


Requiem

by greenflare



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: BaekYeol - Freeform, Game of Thrones AU, HunHan - Freeform, M/M, Prince Kai - Freeform, Prince Sehun, War, sekai - Freeform, slightincest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-20 16:44:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9500609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenflare/pseuds/greenflare
Summary: (Game of Thrones AU). In the land of Westeros, Prince Kai, first of his name, is to succeed his father, the King who lies on his sick bed. His highness has a very little time left. Meanwhile in the north, house Oh gathers all of its banner men and declares a revolt against the King who has imprisoned the second son of their Lord, Oh Sehun.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Game of Thrones AU so prepare for character death, smut, war, politics, betrayal, incest(slight), heartless kings, and all that jazz. You DONT need prior Game of Thrones knowledge to read this fic.

 

 

> #    
>  ? _Can a man still be brave if he's afraid"_  
>  _".That is the only time a man can be brave_
> 
>  
> 
>  

"Time has come that you take the matter into your own hands and release the Oh child, your Grace," Byun Baekhyun, the master of the coins, poured wine in the goblet for the Prince of Westeros. He was a small man with a nice smile. He had four rings on each of his left fingers. His left thumb remained ringless.

Prince Kim Kai, heir to the Iron Thrones, raised an eyebrow. “You have got quite the guts, Byun. If you think you can order me around.” He didn’t sound mad, but he did sound unimpressed. He was sitting on a large chair. It had beautiful wooden carvings. A griffin was carved on each tip of the arm-rest. It was a family heirloom. The King gifted Kai the chair on his seventh nameday.

Baekhyun gave a small smile. “I would never, your Eminence. It was just a mere advice from a concerned friend. The King’s health is deteriorating by days. The Maesters are trying but to no avail.”

Prince Kai scoffed. “The Oh _child_ misbehaved with Father. I am surprised he is still alive. You know how much the King loves burning people.” He muttered, taking a sip of the wine. He remembered the screams and cries of the criminals when they were executed. Execution in the house Kim meant burning them alive. His Father, the King enjoyed every bit of it. He was named the Sadist King. Kai cringed at the name, mainly because he knew it was true. He still remembered when he saw the first execution. He was barely six. He was forced to watch it by his father. He couldn’t sleep for seven nights straight.

“Pardon me for saying this, your Grace, but he is very young.” Baekhyun said. Kai could easily recognise the pity in his voice. “What if Winterfell decides to declare war?”

Kai grinded his teeth. “I will crush them.”

 

Oh Sehun covered his mouth with a palm as he coughed continuously. His body was burning up. He took deep breathes, his eyes closed. It had been a month since he was captured by the Sadist King. He couldn’t take it anymore. The dungeons were suffocating him to no limits. It was hot and he wasn't allowed to take bathes. He was reeking, and for someone who thought staying clean is first priority, it was torterous.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and eyebrows. The dungeon was barely lit by a small fire torch on the wall.

 _Fuck the King_ , Sehun thought. He had no right to imprison him. Was mocking the King an offense now? He was the son of the lord of Winterfell. He trusted his father and brother to save him. His brother. Luhan. How he wished he was with him, soothing his with his kind words.

Sehun coughed again. His throat was burning up. He had a cold, maybe? Sehun never got sick. This was bad. His head was throbbing. His finger tips were turning pale as white. He tilted his head when he heard footsteps approaching him. He gulped and started shifting in the opposite direction but the chains in his hands and legs restricted him.

“There, there. No need to be afraid,” he heard an oddly patronizing voice.

“Who… are you?” Sehun managed to speak. His voice was hoarse and dry. He didn’t recognize it. It panicked him.

“A friend.” He saw a man dressed in fine clothes. He was either royalty or held a very high postition.

Sehun gulped. “Friend?” He muttered.

“I am Baekhyun, and I am here to release you.”

 

“Seven hells!” Oh Luhan cursed as banged his fists on the table. His face was red from anger. He cursed several more times. “Father, are you really going to let this slide? He is your son, for gods’ sake!”

His father rubbed his temples with his fingers. “I know, Son. But our army is not strong enough for attacking King’s Landing. We will be destroyed.”

Luhan let out a soft growl. “I do not care. I will negotiate with house Wu if I have to get extra men. I am going to _destroy_ the Sadist King.” He growled.

His Father sighed.

“We are declaring war,” Luhan muttered. “I need to save my baby brother.”

  

## THE HOUSES

##    
HOUSE KIM  
_"new day rising."_

★ **Kim Kai**

_“They need to fear you in order to follow you.”_

The future King, the next in the heir. Raised to be a ruler and a fighter. Is good with both swordsmanship and one-on-one hand combat. Bitter and harsh. Is barely seen smiling. Always replies with a single line and a grunt. Is his father’s favorite. Never had a normal childhood. None of the children in house Kim do. His mother committed suicide when he was very young. Is very passive and upfront. Has never shown any romantic feelings for anyone until he gets to know his prisoner, Oh Sehun.

★ **Kim Chanyeol**

_“When life gives you horseshit, lose yourself in booze and women. Or men. Whatever you prefer."_

Is an year younger than his brother Kai. Is labelled as the useless prince because he is always found drinking and switching lovers in matter of fortnight. Is rumoured to be a product of incest, i.e., son of the King and his sister, which will also make him a bastard. _Only filthy rumours,_ he replies when asked. Is very carefree and juvenile.

★ **Kim Jongdae**

_"I have ears everywhere."_

Master of Whispers and Spies.

##    
HOUSE OH  
_"blood before everything."_

★ **Oh Sehun**

_“I have seen enough torturous deaths to know the value of life.”_

Is the second son of the Lord of the Winterfell. Raised with honour. Is a good archer. Is known to be considerate and kind, just like his father and mother. Family first, is his motto. Blood before everything. Is promised to marry the daughter of the Lord of the Iron Islands. Doesn't complain about it because _Father knows the best_ , until he is imprisoned by the King for calling him a 'Sadist King'. Slowly warms up to the next-in-line King, Prince Kai and discovers he is nothing like the Sadist King.

★ **Oh Luhan**

_“What kind of Lord would I be if I cannot even save my little brother?"_

Is the future Lord of Wintefell. Sehun's older brother. Raised with dignity and honour. Is short-tempered and is known for screaming and cursing a lot. Family first, blood before everything. Can get violent sometimes. Is small in stature but is very good with one-on-one combat as he is quick and light.

★ **Oh Zitao**

Sehun's cousin.

##    
HOUSE BYUN  
_"both sides need to be even."_

★ **Byun Baekhyun**

_“What you speak, is not what you are, my dear one."_

A manipulative yet very warm man. Is the master of coins. Has know the Princes ever since they were children. Is always found smiling. Is known to be very kind to helpless people. Also donates a lot to the poor. Believes that Sehun is very good for Kai. Has a soft spot for Prince Chanyeol.

##    
HOUSE WU  
_"a spark is enough to set them ablaze."_

★ **Wu Yifan**

Find out as the story proceeds.


	2. 'Sweetheart'

“May I come in?”

Kai, heir to the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, raised his eyes from the book he was so focused on. ‘Sōvegon,’ was the title of the book. It was a Valyrian term. It was about dragons. Their origin, and how they were obliterated from the face of earth. They are said to have unlimited growth potential, growing as large as suits their living environment or enclosure. The prince had a fascination for these creatures. He had always wanted to pet one.

His step mother, the King’s fifth wife, the Queen of Westeros or the Seven Kingdoms, stood at the door, dressed in a fine embodied silk gown which was a mixture of topaz yellow and emerald green. She was the one who had disturbed him from his peaceful reading.

“What is it, your Grace?” He asked. His voice plain and his face stoic.

The Queen, Hyerim, giggled. Her brown curls bounced as she shook her head. She was young for the King. Too young, in fact. But that is how the King liked his wives, young and petite. “You ought to call me ‘Mother’. It will make me happy.” She smiled at him. She walked inside his study room and slightly leaned on the table.

Kai decided to ignore her request. “You look awfully cheerful for someone whose husband is dying,” he said. If he said he cared about the Queen, he would be lying. She wasn’t his mother. His mother was dead and gone. She was just a useless pretty woman the King seemed to have taken an interest in.

Hyerim’s smile didn’t fade. She was used to her step-son’s odd ways of showing affection. Or that is what she thought or liked to think. “Your Father will be fine. He is a fighter.”

“Hmm,” Kai hummed, flipping through the pages of the book. He knew what was coming next. It was his time. His reign was approaching. He would be declared as the King soon. That is the reason why Hyerim had been trying to warm up to him so much. He looked straight into her eyes and held her gaze for a couple of seconds.

“Apologies, but when the new day rises in Westeros, you will have no place in it.” He spoke each word slowly in a low voice, his face impassive and cold.

Hyerim's smile suddenly fell from her face. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when Baekhyun rushed inside the study room. “Your grace, I am sorry to barge in but-“ He stopped when he noticed the Queen. He forced a smile. “Your highness, don’t you look lovely today!” He chimed.

Hyerim tried to gain her composure back by clearing her throat and returned his smile. “The silk is from Pentos. Isn’t it lovely?” She twirled around to show off her new gown.

Baekhyun, the trusty Master of Coins, was glad he was able to subside any raising suspicion of the Queen. But Kai raised an eyebrow at him.

“The maesters are looking for you,” Baekhyun informed the Queen. She gave a little nod in reply. “It must be about that new medicine.” She bade her goodnights and left the room.

“You looked so desperate for a second there. How uncharacteristic.” Kai mocked him. He closed his book and put it aside. He knew Baekhyun had some serious news. The latter would never barge into his room without permission like that. He hoped it didn’t have to do anything with that one certain prisoner.

“It’s Oh Sehun, your Grace.”

Kai groaned. “Aren’t we done talking about him?” He leaned back on his large chair.

“No, its- He is sick. He needs help.”

“Why do I care?”

“Its… It could be greyscale, your Grace.”

Prince Kai didn’t look convinced.

“You do not understand, your Grace. If he dies the Ohs will be enraged. They will start a rebellion. The North will not tolerate this. The North always remembers.”

“It has been a month since his imprisonment. I don’t see any rebellion.”

“Maybe they are gathering armies,” Baekhyun spoke slowly. “They already have a lot of banner men. If the Wus decide to join them, it could be bad news for us, your Grace. There is no harm in being careful.”

Kai almost bit his tongue. He sighed. He had to admit, initially, even he was against the captivity of Oh Sehun because of the bitter consequences but he didn’t want to protest against his Father. He wasn’t like the King who didn’t care about the results of his actions. In the nineteen years of his life, he had seen his father make mistakes after mistakes. If the King didn’t learn anything from his mistakes, his son Kai surely did. The Seven Kingdoms were going to be his soon. He didn’t want to risk things.

“Fine, take him to the Maester.” He finally gave in. “But, let me accompany you. I don’t trust the Northerners.” He muttered as he got up.

Baekhyun gave a soft smile. “Your mother was a Northerner.”

Kai didn’t reply.

Sehun felt his nose getting clogged. It was getting harder for him to breathe. He was panting with his mouth slightly open, leaning on the wall for support as he waited for his new ‘friend’ to come back. He had never experienced a cold this bad. Was it really a cold? The boy didn’t know. He gulped and felt his throat burning. He slowly slumped down the wall.

Sehun heard footsteps. More than just a pair of footsteps, he noticed. He looked up as Baekhyun was walking towards him. But he wasn’t alone. Beside him, was a man. Or more like a young man.

Sehun’s brows furrowed in rage. It was the King’s son. Kim Kai. Were they going to execute him? But the other man said they were setting him free? The chain marks on his wrist and ankle where aching and red and were begging for his attention.

He tried to stand up properly without any support but his legs gave in. He had barely ate anything in the time of imprisonment. He was weak and tired. Before he could feel the floor, two strong hands grabbed his shoulder and waist. Reflexed kicked in and Sehun grabbed the person’s shoulders. It was the Prince. Heat radiated from his body and he smelled like musk. Sehun could tell even through his blocked nose because of the closeness. It was a nice smell.

He flinched from the touch and was about to protest when Baekhyun grabbed him by his waist and swung one of Sehun’s hand around his neck. “Please, your Grace, let me.” He told the Prince.

Kai scoffed. “You look pathetic,” he muttered at Sehun.

Sehun glared at the prince. “And whose fault is that?” He was in ratted clothes and was covered in bruises. Large dark circles took resident under his eyes. His face was paler than the late moon. His lips were chapped. He look wrecked. Nothing like a lord’s son. He eyed the Prince, who, on the other hand, looked like a perfectly carved sculpture. Sehun didn’t want to admit that the Prince was handsome beyond words.

“You even sound pathetic,” Kai replied in an ‘I-don’t-care’ tone.

Sehun was about to come up with a snarky remark of his own when Baekhyun squeezed his waist. “Let’s go, okay? You are sick. You need to be take some medicines.” He smiled at him. Sehun wasn’t sure if the man’s concern was real or not but he slightly nodded.

 

 

“A little bit of this two times day. Once at sunrise and once at sunset, and you will be fine,” the old man smiled at Sehun when he offered him a small container with crushed herbs. Sehun let out a small smile. “Thank you,” he said.

The Maester nodded and left the room. He bade his goodnights to the Prince and the Master of Coins before he left. After having a thorough check on the boy, the Maester had suggested that Sehun shouldn’t be sent back to the dungeons as his health could worsen.

“I hope this isn’t poison.” Sehun muttered, suspiciously glaring at the purplish red crushed herbs.

“Does being ungrateful run in your family or…?” Kai replied with a question. He was glaring at Sehun from across.

Sehun glared back. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Kai shrugged. “You shouldn’t lose your sleep over it, Sweetheart.”

Sehun laughed humourlessly. “Yes, because I can see you are losing your sleep over it, _Sweetheart_.”

Kai let out an uncharacteristic smirk. Sehun was like a lost puppy trying to fight back as he sat there glaring and chewing on the herb. Kai almost thought it was adorable. Almost.

“I could kill you with a snap of my fingers, you know.” Kai said after a few minutes of silence.

“But you won’t,” Sehun replied. Kai was slightly taken aback by his response. Not because it was unexpected, but because he was right. He wouldn’t kill Sehun.


	3. 'Blood before everything'

It was snowing. The season of White, they said. Sehun was cold. It felt like thousands of needles were piercing through his skin. He was walking on a pale road. A road that led to nothing. Nothing but white. Sehun loved snow. He was raised in Winterfell where it snowed quite often. He would always play around with his big brother Luhan in the ice. They would build snow forts and would attack each other with snow balls to find out whose fort was the strongest. Luhan would always win. But Sehun was happy. He was happy to see his brother win.

Sehun stopped in his tracks when he noticed a small silhouette in front of him. It took him only a few seconds to recognise his brother. ‘Luhan,’ Sehun tried to call out. But he couldn’t find his own voice. He started walking faster but stopped when he saw a small sad smile on his brother’s face. “I am sorry, Sehun. I have failed you.” He whispered as he took a dagger out of his pouch and stabbed himself on his stomach. Sehun screamed when he saw Luhan collapse. The snow was tainted red.

Sehun woke up, panting. His mouth felt dry. His heart was beating fast. He felt tears breaming in his eyes. He blinked them away as the boy’s eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room he was in. Sunlight was streaming through a tiny window. “A dream,” he realized as he mumbled to himself, relieved, tossing around in the white blanked. He tried to sit. His head was on fire.

“Side effects of the herbs,” he jumped when he heard a voice. It was a girl. He glanced at her, licking his chapped lips.

“The chances of any side effects are very slim really. But it is said that when you take this herb, you have a slight chance of dreaming your worst fears.” She added as she walked towards the bed.

“I would have appreciated if I was told about this earlier,” Sehun sighed, rubbing his eyes. The dream was horrible. It felt so real. He never wanted to have a dream like that ever again. It was indeed his worse fear. Losing his family. Losing Luhan. Blood before everything, was the motto of their house Oh. Family was the most important.

The girl smiled at him. “Accept my apologies. I am Krystal. I am an apprentice to the King’s personal Maester.”

Sehun could only manage a nod. He noticed that they were in a small room. There wasn’t much in the room. A bed. A small weak looking pair of chair and table. He was probably being held captive there. He was a little relieved. At least it was better than the horrible dungeons.

“I am Sehun,” the boy introduced himself.

“I know,” Krystal said. “We have met when we were kids. Me and my family, we were visiting Winterfell. Your father is a kind man.” She smiled. And for the first time in a whole month Sehun received and returned a genuine smile.

 

Kai played with the ring on his index finger as scanned through the various murmuring faces sitting on the table. Since his father was unwell and could barely walk or speak, he was to attend the council meetings on the King’s behalf.

He cleared his voice and it was quite in a second.

“Is there any important thing that needs my attention?” The Prince asked. He hated meetings like these. He hated sitting with people who acted like they supported him. His father had taught him not to trust anyone and it was one of the only important things he had learned from his father. A traitor could be sitting on this very table and listening to all of his plans. But he had his duties. And he trusted his father enough to hire the most loyal masters for the council.

“There is grave matter, your Grace,” Kim Jongdae, the Master of Whispers, also known as the Master of Spies and one of Kai’s distant cousins decided to speak up. “Words have been around that Yifan from House Wu has discovered something unimaginable.” He shifted in his seats, not sure how to phrase his next words. “Dragons, sir. Rumours are that he has three dragons with him.”

Some of the Masters scoffed. One of them rolled his eyes. Kai narrowed his eyes at his Master of Spies. “The source is?”

“Very trustworthy and has a large chance of being accurate,” Jongdae ensured his future King, heir to the iron thrones.

“This is blasphemy, your Grace.” The Hand of the King, the chief advisor complained.

“Shut up,” was Kai’s reply. The Hand looked offended, but quickly regained his composure. Kai trusted the sleazy old Hand of his Father the least.

He looked back at Jongdae. “Are you suggesting that this might be a problem for King’s Landing?”

“They are dragons, your Grace,” he said. “The mightiest beings. They are a problem to all of Westeros.”

“Send your best spy to Pentos. I need to know if the dragons really exist or not.” Kai concluded.

“May I suggest something, your Grace?” Baekhyun, who had been quite throughout the entire conversation gave a small smile. Kai gave him a single nod. “The Ohs are said to be in good terms with the Wus.” He continued.

“The prisoner?” Jongdae asked. Baekhyun nodded.

“What makes you think he would help us?” The Hand shook his head.

Baekhyun looked at Kai. “No harm in trying, your Grace.”

 

Kai knew what he had to do. He was going to squeeze some information out of his prisoner. He healed him from his cold and gave him a nicer room. The fucker owed him that much. He pushed open the door to the small room only to come face to face with a shirtless Sehun.

“Seven he-. Do you not know how to knock?” Sehun was startled. Kai’s eyes darted over the milky white torso of the other occupant of the room before he slipped into his tunic. He swore Sehun was the fairest person he had ever come across. He unintentionally licked his lips.

“My kingdom, my rules.” Kai shrugged.

Sehun sighed. “What do you want, your Grace?” He asked. Something about the way he said ‘your grace’ didn’t sound very sincere, Kai noticed.

 “I have an order for you.”

“What do I get in return?”

“My approval of your fucking existence.”

Sehun narrowed his eyes at him. “Denied,” he muttered. He was about to turn his back to Kai when he felt a strong grip on his elbow. Kai dragged Sehun towards himself, their chest colliding, as his other hand gripped the back of Sehun’s blonde hair. “I have an order for you,” he repeated himself in a growling voice, his face inches away from the other boy’s. “I wasn’t asking, Sweetheart.” Sehun felt hot breath against his face.

It was then when Kai noticed how soft and pink Sehun’s lips were. And how brown and innocent his eyes were when they looked back. Kai’s eyes admired the boy’s face a little more before he let him go. Sehun let out a shaky breathe. His adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped. Kai must have looked terrifying to Sehun. Good.

“Do you understand?” Kai gritted his teeth.

Sehun nodded. “Yes, your Grace.” This time, it was sincere.

 

Hyerim hummed as she walked along the stony paths of the garden. She glanced up at the starry sky and smiled a little to herself. She loved walking at night like this. She would have some time to think. She sighed as her mind wondered about the King. Her Liege. She didn’t love him, but she certainly did care about him. It had only been a month since she had become the Queen. The Queen before her, the fourth wife of the King had died giving birth to a baby. The child didn’t survive either. It was tragic, Hyerim thought to herself.

Why must men die? Why can’t they live happily ever after?

Hyerim knew she would hate to die. She loved life. She loved trying out new silk dresses every day. She loved eating blueberry. She loved to watch her step sons grow, even they were nineteen years old and all grown up now.

She looked up at the sky again. She was about to return back the castle when she felt a large tanned arm grip around her tiny waist from her back. Before she could scream, another large hand covered her mouth. Her hands flew up as she started to slap and punch the unknown hands. Her eyes were wide with terror.

“Blood before anything,” a voice breathed into her ear. An expensive looking dagger was brought to her throat. In a matter of seconds, it sliced her neck. She collapsed on the ground, succumbing to death in the puddle of her very own blood. The man disappeared into the darkness of the night.


	4. 'Crawl'

“Protect her, O Seven Gods, grant her eternal peace. For her virtues, she shall be known as the kindest of them all. Lady Hyerim of the House Woo, first of her name, Queen of Westeros, daughter of the Lord of Casterly Rock, rests hereby.” The Priest presses his index and middle finger to his forehead and everyone else present on the stage, mimicked his action. Quite chokes and sobs could be heard in the crowd. The Priest, a fragile-looking old man with flowing white hair, cleared his throat. He looked at young girl and gave her a short nod. “You may begin, My Lady.” He walked to where the head of the coffin was and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breathe.

Bomi, the girl walked to where the Priest was standing, the centre of the Hall, adjacent to the dark embroidered coffin. It was beautiful, just like Hyerim’s silk gowns, the girl thought with a sad smile. The loss of her sister was too much to bear for her. She clasped her shaking hands together and inter-twined the fingers. She looked at the different faces in the crowd. Who would have the heart to murder her sweet sister? She fought back a sob as she bit her lips before she opened her mouth and began singing. Her voice trembled a little.

“Would you know my name  
If I saw you in heaven?  
Would it be the same  
If I saw you in heaven?”

Sehun watched through the small window. The building he was staying or locked in, a hospital, he guessed, was quite close to the Town Square. The funeral for the late Queen Lady Hyerim was being held. A lot of people were gathered. He watched as the Queen’s sister Bomi continued her song. Her vocals were clear and strong now. Sehun felt a chill run down his spine.

“Would you hold my hand  
If I saw you in heaven?  
Would you help me stand  
If I saw you in heaven?”

They said that the Queen was found murdered, her throat slit open. Sehun’s Father was right, the King’s Landing was indeed a horrible place to be.

“Beyond the door  
There's peace, I'm sure  
And I know there'll be no more  
Tears in heaven”

Sehun’s eyes fell on the Crown Prince, Kai. His face was twisted as if he was annoyed. Annoyed that the funeral was taking too long for his own wellbeing. He was getting impatient as he looked around the place, tapping his foot continuously. Sehun was enraged. Did this boy feel no emotions? Sehun barely knew the Queen but he could feel sadness washing over him as he witnessed the funeral. Did Kai not care at all? Was that the price for being the heir to the Iron Thrones? He was probably same as his father. Sehun wished the Sadist King would just die and rot in the Seven Hells.

His eyes were fixed on Kai. He wondered what ‘orders’ the Prince had for him. He left abruptly in their second meet. He wasn’t going to be asked to betray his family, was he? He would never do that. Even if they send him back to the Dungeons or even the pits of Hell, he still wouldn’t do it.

Kai looked up, directly at Sehun standing who was at the window. Even though there was some distance, Sehun could feel the intensity of his gaze. They kept the eye contact for a few seconds before Sehun couldn’t take it anymore as he broke the gaze and walked away from the window. Something about the Prince unnerved him.

Hours passed as Sehun sat on his bed. He had nothing to do here. He didn’t belong. And he would be damned if he would have to live as the King’s captive for the rest of his life. He had to think of an escape plan quickly. He wasn’t very tactical. But desperate times called for desperate measures. He didn’t want to be hasty though. It was House Kim he would be messing with. Even though the King was in his sick bed, he would still have to face the two sons. Prince Kai and Prince Chanyeol, but Sehun wondered if the latter was that much of a threat.

He was always kept locked in and there were two guards on the door. Sehun was brought meals three times a day. Always by a different handmaiden. They always seemed scared of him, as if he was a criminal. It boiled Sehun’s blood.

Sehun got up from his bed when he heard a knock on the door. He knew who it was. He had a hunch. “I knocked this time,” Kai said as he walked in. Sehun’s hunch was right. He frowned at his Prince’s dry humour. The two guards standing outside accompanied their Prince and walked in as well.

“I have been thinking about what to do with you.” Kai said. “You would be a waste of space to the King if you don’t make yourself useful. Which you definitely are. A waste, I mean.”

Kai took one step forward. He was four paces away. “I could use you as a pleasure slave,” his eyes were dark.

Sehun took a deep breathe to steady himself. “Slavery isn’t allowed in Westeros,” he said his words slowly and carefully.

Kai shrugged. “Maybe I will bend the rules a little after I become the King.”

The nerve of this vile human, Sehun thought.

“Wouldn’t that cause chaos? Don’t you care about your people?” Sehun wanted to keep his voice neutral.

“You don’t tell me how to rule.”

Brat, Sehun wanted to reply.

“Come here,” Kai said as he raised two fingers and curled them toward himself.

As much as Sehun distrusted Kai, he was the Prince. Disobeying him could harm him big time. He had to plan his escape, and he couldn’t ruin it by hot-headed pride. He took a step forward.

“No,” said Kai, unimpressed. “Crawl.”

Crawl?

Sehun could feel his face turning red. “Pardon?”

Kai looked annoyed. “Crawl,” he repeated, arms folded in front of his chest. “Now.”

“N-,” Sehun was not crawling. But before he could say anything, the two guards grabbed him by each arms, one of them on each side. In a matter of seconds he was forced on his knees. He grunted trying to jab his elbow on the Guard’s stomach, but failed as his arms were restrained by their strong hands. One of the grabbed his head and he felt the side of his face hit the floor. Pain shot through his head. He could only wish he was not bleeding.

“So submissive,” Kai joked and Sehun wanted to rip his throat out.

Sehun tried to move his head to look up at Kai but his head was shoved back down again.

“Oi, careful. Don’t ruin his beautiful blonde hair.” Kai ordered. Sehun didn’t know if he was being genuine or mocking him. Probably mocking him.

“What… do you want?” Sehun managed to say as he was still held on the ground.

“Wu Dragons,” was all Kai said.

Sehun’s eyes widened. How did he know? He closed his eyes. It was supposed to be a secret weapon. But if the Prince knew, then possibly every big character in King’s Landing knew about it. His Father would be disappointed.

“What?” Sehun pretended to be clueless.

“Sven,” Kai muttered and one of the big burly Guard let go of Sehun. Before Sehun could do anything, he landed a hard kick on Sehun’s abdomen. He hissed, holding his stomach with his free hand. Sehun was used to pain but the blow was hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs.

“We could do this the easy way or hard way. Your choice,” he heard Kai above him as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“I don’t know… what you are-“ Another kick. This time it was on his face. Sehun was panting as blood trickled down from his mouth.

“Don’t make me ruin your pretty face,” Kai growled. He was in a bad mood and he didn’t have time for this.

Sehun just shook his head. One of the Guards drove his fist into Sehun’s jaw. Once, and then again, and again.

“Stop,” Kai said.

Sehun’s head rang. Blood from his mouth dripped onto the tile. He tested his jaw. Not broken.

“We will do this some other time,” Kai said when he realized that Sehun won’t be talking anytime soon.

All the hands on Sehun were gone now. He weakly lifted himself, wiping the blood on his mouth. He didn’t understand Kai. One second he was being borderline nice and trying to cure his illness, and the other he was beating Sehun up to get information out of him. Sadist King’s son Bipolar King.

\- - -

“I am not upset that my step mother was murdered, Baekhyun. I am enraged that a murderer is running around free in King’s Landing. He will pay for this. I will burn his alive. He deserves to be burnt alive.” Kai muttered as he sipped wine. The taste felt good and familiar around his tongue.

“It could be an assassin, your Grace.” Baekhyun replied.

“Then I will burn the assassin and the person who assigned him the task.” Kai said. “The King would really enjoy that. Double execution. More fire. More screams. More pain inflicted on others.” He chuckled. “The more the merrier, right?”

“Our fifth Queen. Gone,” Baekhyun sighed, mostly to himself.

Kai couldn’t care less about the Queen as he brought the goblet to his mouth.

The door to the study was opened by a guard and Shon, the Hand of the King entered the room. He looked pissed. “Your Grace,” he said with a bow. “Baekhyun,” he acknowledged the presence of the other man. Baekhyun smiled at him.

The Hand looked happy, for a change. “The King is awake. He wishes to see his Son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was slightly inspired from the book the captive prince. the song bomi is singing is eric clapton's tears in heaven.


	5. 'You will be our King soon'

“I do not sleep as I did when I was younger,” Prince Chanyeol, second son of the King of the Seven Kingdoms, muttered as he shifted on the bed. His hair was messy and eyes were droopy. Thin layer of sweat glistened on his skin. The girl beside him on the bed giggled as she ran a finger through his shoulder. “Didn’t get enough sleep? Was last night too much for you, your Grace?” Her hair was the colour of fire and her eyes were blue like the ocean.

Chanyeol playfully narrowed his eyes at her. She pounced on the redhead, making her giggle even more. “You know what the House Kim’s Sigil is?” He asked. He was now on the top of the naked girl. “It’s a Griffin.” He continued. “Griffins are known for being sturdy. Enough stamina to fuck five times straight.” Chanyeol grinned.

“Five times?” The girl bit her lower lip as he trailed sloppy kisses on her collarbone. He sucked on the skip between her soft breasts. A small moan escape her pinks lips as she gripped her prince’s hair.

“Gods, spare me!” They heard a voice and quickly brought some distance between them. Chanyeol drowsily glanced at the intruder. “I thought I locked the door.” He sighed.

Baekhyun, who had accidentally witnessed something he didn’t want to, looked at Chanyeol, then the girl, and then back at Chanyeol. “Well, it obviously is not, your Grace.” He said. Chanyeol slumped back on the bed, groaning. The girl flashed a shy smile at Baekhyun. He did not know why she was trying. It was a well-known fact that the man was never into girls.

“I will see you later,” Chanyeol kissed the girl’s cheek before she got up, gathered her clothes, and left the room with all smiles.

Baekhyun kept glaring at him. “Your father is up. I think you should lower the ‘sleeping-around’ a little now.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “Papa’s up? And I was not sleeping around.” He searched for his pants which he had thrown somewhere last night in the midst of his heat.

“Oh, really? What’s her name then?” Baekhyun crossed his arms over his chest.

Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows as he finally found his clothes under the bed. How did they get there? “Uhh. Wait. It’s… La- Lana, I think?” He muttered, slipping into his trousers.

Baekhyn rolled his eyes. “It’s Eli. She is a handmaiden. She has been working in King’s Landing for three years now.”

Chanyeol made a ‘o’ with his mouth. “You know… a lot.” He said. A grin slipped through his lips. “Did you do her brother or something?” He cracked at his own poor joke. Before he could say some more, Baekhyun forced him to get dressed quickly and dragged him to the King’s room.

\- - -

Kai looked at his father’s pained face. He is getting old, was the first thing that came to his mind. The King was breathing through his chapped mouth. His cheeks were hollow and he looked almost dead. He muttered something. Kai could barely hear him. He brought his ear closer to his father’s mouth. “Wine,” he heard the King muttered. Kai sighed. “You can’t father. Just focus on your medicines now.”

The King weakly shook his head. Kai was frustrated. He didn’t have time to attend his sick father’s boring demands. He had a council meeting in a short time. He also needed to confront Sehun again. He wouldn’t stop until he broke down.

The Grand Maester, who was also present in the room, chuckled. “Your highness is getting better every day. If this progress continues, he will be as good as new.” He smiled at the Prince referring to the King. Kai didn’t know how he felt about.

“May we have a moment alone?” He asked the Maester after a couple of seconds. The old man nodded. “Of course, your Grace. I will be right outside if you need me.” He got up and walked slowly out of the room.

Kai looked at his father who had a dazed look on his face. “I need to find another Queen,” the King mumbled. Of all of the worries in the world, his father was worried about having no wife to make love to. “Hyerim’s sister. Prepare… a wedding.”

Kai wanted to roll his eyes. “You have to get well first, Father. You can barely get up on your feet.” How many times was his father planning to get married? He would never know. Kai hated weddings. He didn’t understand the appeal.

The King grunted in reply. “Fuck you. I am fine.” How typical of his Father.

The door was slightly opened and Chanyeol peeked in. He walked in after he thought it was okay to, his signature grin plastered on his face. “The Gods have answered my prayers, after all.” He bowed to his father.

The King didn’t think it was necessary to acknowledge the presence of his other son. His eyes were still fixed on Kai. “Wed me,” he whispered.

“Bed me?!” Chanyeol shrieked and received a sharp glare from his older brother, Kai.

\- - -

Sehun knew Kai would be back. He knew the Prince would ask him about the dragons again. He couldn’t tell Kai the truth about the dragons.

The truth was, Wu Yifan, who was currently residing in the Free Cities, had actually come across three dragons eggs. House Wu and House Oh were like ‘old friends’ who fought against House Kim in the time when Jaejoong the Conqueror usurped the throne from Yifan’s great grandfather. It was a legendary war. Sehun had heard various stories about it from his father.

It was after two days when Sehun received another visit from his Captor’s son. He was having his lunch in his room. He was forced to eat a lot by Krystal because the herbs won’t be effective if his stomach wasn’t full. The bruises and cuts from his last encounter with Kai were starting to heal.

He stood up when Kai was inside his room, ready for a second round of beat down. He was surprised to see the Prince wasn’t with his guards.

“You eat like a mule,” Kai said as he glanced at all the food in front of his prisoner. “How are you so scrawny?”

Sehun decided to ignore him. “I still won’t talk.” He said. He wiped his mouth with a cloth. He was done eating for now.

“I know,” Kai replied. “But you will someday. It’s not like you are going anywhere.” His tone was a little dark.

“I don’t see your guards. No beat down today?”

Kai shook his head. “I was… pissed that day.” He almost sounded apologetic. “I have a hard time controlling my… temper.” He didn’t know why he was trying to justify himself, but he was telling the truth.

“Is that what you tell people after you murder them?” Sehun questioned.

Kai was stunned for a moment. He smirked. “You are so feisty all the time, Sweetheart,” he chuckled.

“Don’t call me that,” Sehun quietly muttered. He looked down as he felt his stomach doing weird things. He tried to convince himself that it was because he ate too much.

“I have never murdered anyone,” Kai answered his question. Sehun looked back at him and he could tell Kai was avoiding his gaze at the moment.

“Oh,” was all Sehun could reply.

Kai sat down on the bed. The collar of his shirt shifted a little in the process, revealing a small view of a painful looking scar.

“You have a scar,” Sehun responded before he could think. It looked very scary on his tanned skin. He wondered if it was in a battle. But he did say he never murdered anyone. Maybe during training?

“My father likes to experiment,” Kai chuckled. Sehun was surprised at the unexpected confession. He genuinely felt sorry for the Prince. He didn’t know what it would be like to have the Sadist King as a father.

“He’s a monster,” Sehun muttered.

“He’s your King,” Kai said in a nonchalant tone.

“You will be our King soon,” Sehun replied.

Kai swore he saw Sehun give him a hopeful gaze. It almost felt… warming. No one had ever looked at him like that. Not his father. Not his brother. Definitely not any of his ex-step-mothers. Not even Baekhyun. He is beautiful, Kai thought as his eyes hovered over Sehun’s sharp nose, his thin pink lips and sharp jawline. He looked a lot better than the first time Kai had seen him. The colour in Sehun’s cheeks had returned and his brown eyes twinkled with liveliness.

Kai was sexually attracted to only a few people. Sehun was one of them. And he was making his way to the top of the list.

“You are staring,” Sehun sounded amused.

Kai scoffed, looking away. “You should refer to me as ‘your Grace’ or ‘your excellency’ or ‘your highness’. Did your father not teach you any manners?”

“My father taught me to show respect to people who deserve it.” Sehun wasn’t backing down.

Kai got up from the bed and walked to where Sehun was sitting. The blonde boy prepared for the worse as he clenched his jaw. Kai leaned in front of Sehun’s chair so that they were face to face. He raised a hand to Sehun’s cheek before squeezing it. His eyes widened as he was caught off guard by Kai’s little action. It was a slightly painful because his cheek was bruised due to the kicks and punches he had received from Kai’s guards.

“Your bratty mouth will be the death of you,” Kai smirked as he squeezed both of Sehun’s cheeks playfully. Kai never imagined that anyone’s skin could be this soft. His previous speculation of Sehun was right. He was like a little puppy. It was confirmed when Sehun tried to wriggle his way out of Kai’s grip, shaking his head and wrinkling his nose and brows.

\- - - 

The council had been an utter mess ever since Queen Hyerim was murdered. No one trusted any one, that much was certain. Kai was told that the Grand Maester and the Hand together had actually figured out the actual culprit behind the killing. He didn’t know if he wanted to believe that. Before they could accuse anyone, they needed some hard-core evidence. And ‘because he didn’t like the queen’ wasn’t a very strong evidence for Kai.

Shon, the Hand, cleared his throat. “Grand Maester Amin told me that the cut in the Queen’s throat was quite unusual.” He stated. “It was like… The dagger that made the cut, it was sharper at the bottom and blunter at the tip.”

“Daggers like these are specially made for throat-slicing, Your Grace. They are called slitters.” The Grand Maester stated.

Kai nodded, signalling them to continue.

“Only a certain House makes slitters. They are actually quite famous for it.” Shon continued.

That is when it hit Kai. “The Northerners.” He muttered. House Oh used slitters in a lot of their work, especially in assassination.

“Sehun?” Baekhyun almost sounded shocked.

The first thing that would pop into anyone’s mind would be Sehun’s. If he really was the Queen’s killer, Kai had to execute him.

The Prince wasn’t sure how he felt about that.


	6. 'I will'

“This is preposterous!” Baekhyun slammed a hand on the table. “There is no way Sehun could have done it. He is being guarded by-“

“He has a grudge against the King. He would obviously get revenge by murdering the Queen.” Shon countered.

“A lot of people have grudge against the King,” Baekhyun replied.

“How do you explain the slitters?”

“House Oh is a huge network of families. Any of them could have done it. And the dagger is a movable object. It could easily have been stolen.”

Shon shook his head. “If the Ohs are involved, then the prisoner had to do something with it. He ordered one of his brothers, probably.”

Baekhyun groaned in frustration. “For the sake of mankind-“

“He didn’t do it,” Kai finally spoke. Everyone’s eyes fell on him. He felt a little hesitant, but continued. “I don’t think Sehun is capable of killing anyone.” He said. He is too nice, he wanted to say but didn’t. “He has been locked and under watch ever since his imprisonment. I can bet the entire Seven Kingdoms that he was in his room when the murder occurred.”

Shon, the Hand, didn’t look impressed. His brows were furrowed and he was fuming. Kai felt as if he was trying too hard to blame the kill on Sehun.

“Jongdae, I need your birds to investigate. Check everyone for possession of any kind of Slitters. Even the handmaidens, Kingsguards, cooks. Everyone who was present in King’s Landing on the night of the murder.” Kai knew he had to deal with it the right way. The thought of a dead Sehun made his heart clench. Maybe he was getting a little fond of his Father’s captive.

“I don’t think you can do that, your Grace.” The Grand Maester Amin spoke in his raspy voice.

Kai raised any eyebrow. “Are you opposing me? I know you are old but I wouldn’t mind having your head on a stake.” He spat. He was getting annoyed.

“No, no, your Grace. I would never do that.” Amin muttered in a hurry. “It’s just… The King is finally awake and able to speak now. I think that he should be the one to make the decision. Not you, your Grace.” He smiled at Kai.

Smiled. Fucking smiled at Kai. The Prince wanted to rip the Maester’s head out.

“I agree with Amin, your Excellency,” Shon said. His eyes had an odd twinkle. He was back to his old self. “It would be best that way. The King has more experience. He obviously knows better.”

The Maester got up. “I shall go and tell the King about our little problem.” He muttered.

“No,” Kai said. “He is sick. He shouldn’t be-“

“He is in his sound mind now. He is the King and has every right to know about this. His wife was killed for Gods’ sake!” The High Septon, who always kept quite in most of the Council meetings, added a bit of his views on the topic.

Kai bit his tongue. He couldn’t stop them. He watched the Maester leave the room as the Hand and the Septon followed them. What kind of sorcery were these people planning? The Prince knew his father well enough. He would order Sehun’s execution without batting an eye. No trial, he wouldn’t even want to hear what Sehun had to say. The King had always hated the Ohs. This was the perfect opportunity for him to kill one of them. For the first time in a long while, Kai panicked.

\- - -

Kai ignored the guards when they greeted him as he stormed into Sehun’s room. The other boy was on the bed, curled up into in a ball. Kai kneeled down near the bed as he vigorously shook Sehun, trying to wake him up.

Sehun flinched a little. He opened his eyes. He looked tired and exhausted.

“Oi. Wake up.” Kai grabbed Sehun roughly by the shoulder and made him sit on the bed. “Wake up before I slap you!”

Sehun was almost awake. “What? Kai?” He squinted at him. It was the first time Sehun had ever said Kai’s name. The Prince’s heart fluttered. He didn’t know why but he liked the way Sehun called out to him. It almost felt natural. Like they had known each other for ages and Sehun had called out Kai’s names billions of times before.

But Kai had no time to think about that. He had to warn the other boy. “I need you to listen to me carefully, okay?” He said in a low voice to make sure the guards didn’t hear him.

“I don’t understand… What?” Sehun was still a little dazed and Kai’s hands on his shoulders didn’t help one bit.

“You are most likely going to be executed today.” Kai blurted out.

Sehun’s eyes widened. He looked horrified and pained at the same time. “W-Why? I don’t-“

“Sehun, listen to me.” Kai looked at him straight in his eyes. “They think you killed the Queen. They won’t listen. And I can’t do anything because my father is awake and gets to decide.”

Sehun was violently shaking his head now. His eyes were getting a little watery. “I would never do that! I would never…” He started blabbering. “I haven’t left the room. How could they…?” He kept shaking his head.

Kai sighed. He gritted his head as he let go of Sehun’s shoulders. The thought of Sehun being burnt alive was revolting to no extent.

“I have done a little bit of thinking and… I think you can be saved.” Kai said. “When they call you to the court, plea Trial by Combat.”

Trial by Combat. Sehun had heard of it before. A trial by combat, deciding a man's guilt or innocence in the eyes of the gods by having two other men hack each other to pieces. The accused will have a representative who will duel with the King’s fighter in the arena. If the accused’s fighter won, then he is free of all the charges. If he lost, then the accused will be executed.

Sehun didn’t know why Kai was helping him. He didn’t question it either. He nodded at the Prince. He felt like he could trust him. He sounded genuine. He was Sehun’s only hope.

\- - -

It wasn’t too long ‘til Sehun was dragged by the Kingsguards to the Great Hall. The Great Hall was a location within the Red Keep, seat of the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. In it stood the Iron Throne, the symbol of the power and authority of the King over all of Westeros. Within the Great Hall, the King held court, received petitioners and oversaw official ceremonies.

The Hand, Shon, was sitting on the Iron Throne. “I am here to pass judgement on behalf of the King.” He said after Sehun was forced to kneel in front of him. He looked up at Kai who was sitting on a chair beside the Iron Throne. He looked as nonchalant as ever but Sehun knew he was worried about him. He remembered how frantic Kai had been in the small room. Sehun would have smiled at the thought if his life wasn’t at risk at the moment.

“Oh Sehun, you have been found guilty of murdering the late Queen, Woo Hyerim. All the evidences and witnesses point towards you. The case is a clear one. Do you have anything to say?”

Sehun didn’t know what was going to happen to him. Evidence and witness? He wanted to know what on Seven Hells were they talking about. But he didn’t want to pursue this long. He knew everything would come to the same conclusion. They would never want to hear his side of the story.

“I plea Trial by Combat.” Sehun wanted to get it out as quickly as possible. He took a deep breath as he looked at Shon’s surprised face. But he knew the Hand couldn’t deny him. No prisoner could be denied of Trial by Combat if they were a nobleman. And Sehun was the son of the Lord of Winterfell. He was the noblest of the nobles.

The court consisted of a small number of people. But it got a lot noisier when everyone started murmuring at the same time when they heard Sehun’s plea.

The Hand chuckled. “Do you even know what that means, son?”

Sehun flinced at the word ‘son.’ “Yes,” he replied. He felt weak. It felt like his world was shattering a little by little.

“And who would fight for you?” The Hand looked entertained.

Sehun gulped. He knew no one would stand up for him. And the boy himself was not much of a fighter. But he had to give it a try. Before he could say anything, he saw Kai standing up from the corner of his eyes.

“I will fight on his behalf.” Kai was calm. Everyone in the hall was dead silent.


	7. 'For Myself'

_It was a clear dusk. There was a soft glowing light from the sky, caused by the reflection of the sun's rays from the atmosphere. The sun was below the horizon. Winterfell looked as beautiful as ever, Luhan thought. He was out to see-off his Father who was leaving for King’s Landing because the King had summoned him. He glanced at the back of the Lord of Winterfell as he rode away on his chestnut horse with two of his other men on the beautiful twilight. “Take care of your mother and brother,” his Father had told him before he bade his farewell to both of his sons and wife. Of course he would take care of them. It was the reason for his very own existence. The Lord didn’t have to ask him of it. Family was always first priority._

_Luhan returned to the Castle of Winterfell, the capital of the North. His home. He grew up in the beautiful and busy corridors of the palace with his little brother and bunch of other cousins. He noticed his kid brother, Sehun, at the door of Luhan’s room. He had a huge grin on his face. The smile made him look ten times younger._

_“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Sehun asked, slightly leaning on the doorframe._

_Luhan chuckled. “How can I forget my favourite brother’s eighteenth nameday?”_

_Sehun hummed. He walked to Luhan’s bed and sat down. The older boy followed him. He raised his eyebrow as Sehun stretched a hand in front of him. “My present?” His little brother asked, the half-mischievous and half-delightful grin still on his face._

_Luhan chuckled. He leaned forward and planted a chaste kiss on Sehun’s soft lips. “Happy nameday, Sehun. I love you.” He whispered as he stroked the younger boy’s hair. Sehun’s cheeks turned red as he brought his hand down. It was definitely a present he didn’t expect. But he didn’t mind. Not one bit._

Luhan’s finger grazed the map on the table in front of him as the sweet memories of his brother haunted him. He had to plan a proper route if he was planning to King’s Landing in the shortest possible time. He was getting more and more desperate every day. It was pissing him off. He wanted Sehun to be safe. He swore if there was a single scratch on the younger boy, Luhan would probably put the entire King’s Landing on fire. The Kims would get a taste of their own medicine.

Luhan walked out of the room to the town square to be greeted by all the young sturdy men of the Oh family he had summoned. He needed men for the war. He knew fighting the King was going to be a hard job. Almost impossible. But he was willing to bet everything on it.

Everyone’s eyes fell on him. He cleared his throat as he walked up to the small platform on the middle. It was where all the town’s important occasions starting from the weddings to the executions took place. “I am sure every single one of you know why you are here,” he said as he paced a little.

“They took our brother away,” he continued. “Our very own blood. And they expect us to sit silently on our asses as they torture our kin?” Luhan was completely aware he was shouting. The crowd replied with “They expect wrong!” “We shall save him!” “We are here for you!” “Our little brother!” “Blood before everything!” and different other words of encouragement.

Luhan was satisfied with the response. “We shall show them what happens to people who mess with House Oh.” His hands were balled into fists. The entire crown roared in agreement as some raised their sword and some clanked their shields together.

His father was standing among the crowd. He looked proud. He knew his son would make a fine Lord when the time came.

\- - -

Sehun’s mind couldn’t register the situation that was presented in front of him. He gaped at Kai who was standing and looking as relaxed as ever. A million questions ran through his head but none of them could be answered. He was pulled out of his trance when he finally heard the Hand speak.

“What?” Was all the Hand could manage. He was gaping at the Prince, like everyone else in the hall.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Kai spat. “You heard me. I will fight for him.”

Shon looked like he had seen a ghost. “Why?”

Kai shrugged. “Because I want to. I just feel very generous. I want to volunteer.” He winked at Sehun who was just as surprised as Shon.

The Hand got up from his seat. He pointed a furious accusing finger at Sehun. “What did you do?!”

Sehun had no time to argue with Shon. His eyes were fixed on the Crown Prince. “Ka- Your Grace. What you are suggesting is-“ Sehun was about to protest when he was cut off.

“Take him,” Kai muttered to his Guards, jerking his chin towards Sehun. The Guards quickly grabbed the prisoner and Sehun was dragged back. “I can fight for myself!” He screamed and tried to wriggle out of their grip. It was fruitless. He was already dragged out of the hall before anyone could hear him. He was tossed into his small little cell-like room and locked inside.

What was Kai trying to prove? Why was he risking his position for him? Not just his position, but also his life? Just because Sehun was innocent? When did Kai become the harbinger of Justice? Sehun couldn’t think straight anymore.

Everything was so fucked. Sehun hated the fact he felt so weak and useless. He hurried on his knees and started praying. The boy was not a very religious person but desperate times called for desperate measures. He begged the Seven Gods to keep him safe. He begged the Gods to keep Kai safe too.

\- - -

The King was furious beyond words when he heard the news from his trusted Hand. He kept mumbling nonsense and he tried to get off his bed. Even though he was healing, his legs were still weak. He could barely stand; walking was on a whole new different level. He called for his eldest son.

Kai entered his father’s room. He knew what was coming next. His father fuming and cursing him and saying how stupid he had been for his actions. And he knew exactly how to deal with his sick old man.

“I am doing this to prove myself,” Kai said. He stood tall in front of his weak father was still fumbling on the bed.

“Prove… yourself?” The King muttered, trying to figure out what his son was trying to get at.

Kai nodded. “Let me prove myself, Father. Let me show you I am worthy of the Seven Kingdoms.”

His Father shook his head. “This is blasphemy. You can prove yourself in a lot of different ways, son. Why… Why risk your life?!”

“That’s the appeal of it,” Kai replied. The King didn’t fail to notice the glint in his son’s eyes. “I won’t die, I promise. Is that not enough?”

The King shook his head furiously. “Even if you win, Kai, I will _murder_ that Oh Child with my own bare hands.” He said bitterly. His face was red. He started sweating. Before anyone could realize it, the King was coughing and wheezing. He was getting out of breathe. The Maesters moved to his sides and started checking on the King. Kai watched soullessly at his hyperventilating Father. He was responsible for making the King’s condition worse. But Kai didn’t feel an ounce of guilt.

\- - -

The Grand Maester had to make the King drink the milk of the Poppy to calm him down. He was asleep and would be for at least twelve hours. The fight was scheduled to start the in the afternoon of the next day. Kai decided to take a hot bathe because it relaxed his muscles. It was already getting dark.

Baekhyun visited his Prince’s room. He had lots of question. But the first thing he asked when he entered the room after knocking, and getting the permission to, was, “Is this true love?”

Kai rolled his eyes. He knew what the other man was referring to. Did Kai love Sehun? No, of course he didn’t. There was some fondness, yes, but it wasn’t love he felt for the other boy. It was… something he quite couldn’t put his finger on. He had this sudden urge of protectiveness. He didn’t know how to define it. Or even it had any definition at all. He wanted to help him. Like he would help lost puppies on the busy streets of the King’s Landing when he was an innocent little kid.

Kai initially didn’t plan to volunteer for Sehun. But he did end up doing it. It was like reflex. It came naturally. His gut instinct told him that it was the right thing to do. So he did it. And he didn’t regret it. Because he wanted Sehun to be safe. He wanted to see the other boy genuinely smile at least once.

“Is what true love?” He preferred to play the role of a clueless man.

Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows. “Why are you doing this, your Grace?” He was talking as a worried friend instead of the Master of Coins. He had known Kai for half of his life. He didn’t want the Prince to get into any unnecessary trouble. “Do you really think Sehun will be impressed by this?” He spoke slowly because he didn’t want to infuriate his future King.

Kai glared. He would have smacked the person who would have the gut to talk to him so casually. But it was Baekhyun. Kai knew he was genuinely worried. The only other person, other than his father, Kai didn’t mind the casualness with was Sehun. But that was something entirely different.

“Why would I have the need to impress anyone? If you haven’t realised, I am the heir to the Thrones. I will rule everything and everyone soon enough.” Kai said as he grabbed a cloth and started drying his hair, his tone filled with cockiness. “You ought to know, I am doing this for myself.”

Baekhyun narrowed his eyes. “Really? How?”

Kai smirked. “This is the best way to rebel against my father _and_ prove my physical and mental strength. Two birds with one stone.”

“And save the boy you love in the process?” Baekhyun added with a question.

Kai groaned uncharacteristically. “Would you stop that?” He complained as he threw the wet cloth at Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun tried to catch the cloth but it was too late. He gave a small smile. “I am sorry, your Grace. I will stop.” He said. _You are still a kid, after all_ , he thought.

\- - -

Sehun’s head shot up when he heard a noise. Someone was unlocking the door to his room. His eyes widened as he saw Krystal enter the room. She was panting which proved that she had ran all the way to his cell.

“The guards?” Sehun slowly got up from his bed. He wondered how the girl was able to enter the room.

Krystal shook his head. “They are taken care of.” She was talking fast. She stretched her hand in front of her. “Come. Quick. You have to get out of here. He is waiting.”

Sehun’s eyes widened. She was helping his escape. _He is waiting,_ her words echoed through his head.


	8. 'Don't die'

Kai dreamt of his death on the night before the Trial. It was a very strange death. He was slowly getting eaten up by the ground. It was like the Earth was devouring him whole. And he let himself sink slowly and slowly. Not because he was helpless. But because it didn’t hurt. It felt just right. He felt like he was at peace. His mind was calm and his body relaxed. It was a foreign feeling. Everything around him felt warm. And then he realized it wasn’t the Earth that was devouring him. It was something else. He wasn’t dying, either. The familiar face of a blonde boy flashed across his face. He looked so serene. Adorable, as always. Like a pup. Kai weakly lifted his arm to touch his face. The Prince realized what he was getting sucked into. He was getting lost in Sehun.

Kai woke up early in the morning. He felt his stomach grumbling. He had barely had any food the night before. He just couldn’t find his appetite. Maybe he was nervous about the Trial. But he didn’t want to admit it. He was strong enough for it. He knew it. The entire King’s Landing knew it.

Vīlībāzmosa iderennī is what Trial by Combat was called in the High Valyrian tongue. A trial by combat did not, necessarily, needed to be fought to the death. It was fought until one man yielded - though if the accused was representing himself he would fight to the death to avoid a certain execution. The fight could also end if the accuser withdrew the accusation, or the accused confessed.

The victorious party is held to have had his or her case judged fairly by the gods; be it the Faith of the Seven, the Old Gods of the Forest, or whatever they worship, and has proven their innocence in the eyes of the gods. So if the accused party is victorious, they were cleared of all charges. To win a Trial by Combat, the fighter had to be the strongest, the quickest, or just the luckiest.

The Crown Prince skimmed through all the training he had done in his head. He had started training from the age of eight. It was hard at first. As a kid, he didn’t want to fight anyone. But little by little, he started to enjoy it. Swordplay became his favourite pastime. He loved the adrenaline it gave it. The feel of having power over someone as he kept the tip of the sword to their neck was extremely addicting. And at the age of fourteen, he was already an expert.

Kai had his breakfast. He sat with Chanyeol on the huge dining table. The other boy wouldn’t stop staring at his brother. Kai raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Chanyeol just shrugged, chewing on his piece of chicken leg. “Just wondering if you are okay,” he said in a muffled voice.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I meant mentally. Did you hit your head? Seriously, volunteering to fight for an Oh?”

Kai shot daggers at his brother. “At least I am on a ‘fuck, drink, and shit’ schedule.”

Chanyeol didn’t look offended one bit. “Oi. They are the best things about life. Fucking, drinking and… shitting.” But he had his doubts about the last one.

\- - -

Sehun felt like he was a dry lake getting blessed with rain after years and years of drought. A spark of hope. Light at the end of the tunnel. The opportunity to escape was right in front of him. It was like the Seven Gods had finally listened to his prayers. They wanted him to run away. He looked at Krystal’s outstretched hand. It was his only chance. Only chance to finally break free. Only chance to finally get out of clutches of the Sadist King.

But Sehun couldn’t.

He couldn’t do it. Not after what he had witnessed in the courtroom. Not after Kai had stood up for him in front of entire council. How could he abandon him? The Trial would still be held even if he did manage to escape. It was considered as the word of the Gods. There was no way out of it.

Sehun simply shook his head as he took a step back. “No. Not now,” he said. His voice was stronger that he expected it to be.

Sehun didn’t know who the person Krystal was referring to as he, but he had to wait. The boy had unfinished business.

Krystal looked like someone had rejected her love. “They will kill you, Sehun.” She whispered. “Please,” she added.

“I can’t leave Kai! It wouldn’t be fair-“

“You care about the Prince now?” She raised her eyebrows, her voice still a whisper. She was trying her best to keep her voice down.

“Of course I do! He volunteered to help me!”

The girl violently shook her head. “You don’t know him. I am sure he had ulterior motives.”

Sehun didn’t care if Kai had ulterior motives. What the Prince had done for him, no one would have done that for him. Except for his family.

Before Sehun could answer, he heard quick footsteps outside the door. The guards were back. Krystal cursed. Looked like things were not going like she had planned. She tried to make a run out of the room but was greeted by two heavily armed men. They roughly grabbed Krystal by her arms.

“I am here for his medicines!” She quickly said, pointing at her pouch. “The Grand Maester gave me the key.” She said with a small smile. It was a planned and rehearsed lie. Like she was ordered to say it if she was caught somehow. The Grand Maester never got the key to any of the rooms. But of course the guards wouldn’t know that. They let her go eventually, saying that she could not visit the prisoner anymore.

Krystal looked sad when she walked out. Her head hung low. She had failed her mission.

Sehun realized that he didn’t even get to ask her who was waiting for him.

\- - -

The arena was not enormous, but it was big enough for a good five hundred people. There was a separate high platform for the King and Queen. The Council had their special place too. The Hand Shon, the High Septon, Grand Maester Amin, Jondgae the Master of Spies, Baekhyun, were all seated. The King wanted to witness the duel himself. A few guards had to lift him to his throne-like seat because of his inability to walk.

Sehun noticed everything. He was also given a corner to sit and watch. Guards surrounded him. His hands were bound on the front. The commoners sounded filthy words like ‘Abomination!’ ‘Murderer!’ but he decided to ignore them. It was like venom to his ear but he couldn’t get distracted.

Sehun glared at the King. The old man paid him no attention. He didn’t give Sehun a single glance. It angered the boy more.

A huge dark man started hitting an animal skinned drum. The surface vibrated as he drummed several times. There was a continuous thump, thump sound as Kai entered the arena. The crowd cheered. Why wouldn’t they? He was their prince.

As Sehun was staring Kai suddenly jerked his head to move his hair; it caught the light and his hair looked almost brownish-red, each thread falling perfectly, weaving together softly that framed his tanned face. He paused for a moment, and looked directly at Sehun. And for a second, all of Sehun’s worries were gone. Kai looked so confident and he fitted in so easily. Sehun’s eyes wandered up his arm, to his strong forearm disappearing into the sleeve of his off-white undershirt, pushed up to below his elbow to free his hands. Kai’s lips, perfectly formed, parted slightly, his breath, Sehun imagined, moving in and out in steady streams of air.

“Please don’t die,” Sehun mouthed at him, hoping that Kai would understand him.

And for the first time, he saw Kai give a genuine smile. It was small, almost unnoticeable if someone wasn’t looking carefully. But it was there. Sehun’s heart melted.

The King’s representative, his Champion, arrived in a short while. He was a well-built man with an average height. He didn’t look very threatening, but Sehun knew not to judge a judge by its covers. He was introduced as Donghae. Sehun saw Kai chuckle and shake his head. He had no idea why though. The other competitor smirked and shrugged. Sehun noticed he was quite handsome. But he was nothing in comparison to Prince Kai.

The King was asked for permission to begin the Trial. He grunted in reply. The drumming began. They were asked to equip themselves with their weapons. Sehun braced himself.

Kai looked at his opponent who stood at the edge opposite, his own with his sword glinting in the afternoon sun. It was a Valyrian sword. He had received it in his seventieth nameday. He had decided to name the sword ‘Orenmir’. Donghae’s was a thin curved hookblade. He made brief eye contact with Donghae, who only smirked at him.

And they were off. The crowd shied back as the opponent, all youth and lean muscle, leapt catlike from the ledge, waving the hooked blade in figure eights multiple. Kai, this time, he made sure to make eye contact. For a brief moment, he could see uncertainty in his opponent’s eyes. He felt grateful for the advantage. Kai concentrated on his defence and let his muscles settle into the rhythm of swordplay.

Advancing, the man charged at him with the hooked blade upheld, going to his foreswing and following it with a backswing. Kai dodged the first and met the second with his Valyrian sword. The weight of the thing sent Donghae’s blade back, but not far enough to knock the blade free of his hands.

“I have taught you well,” Donghae said, loud enough for everyone in the arena to listen. Kai didn’t say anything. He wanted his full concentration on the fight.

Sehun was at the edge of the seat. He couldn’t count how many times he had prayed for Kai’s safety. His eyes wouldn’t leave the other boy. His hands shook.

Donghae slashed. This arcing shot sliced the fabric of Kai’s shirt at the midsection. It missed the flesh behind it by perhaps a centimetre. Kai swung. Orenmir missed, almost close enough to eat fabric. The opponent managed another smirk, this time at the spryness of his dodge.

The sound of metal clinking as they tried to strike each other several time filled the entire arena.

Kai swung three times. The first two missed badly, but the third, a backswing off the one before it, found flesh. Orenmir cut though Donghae’s shoulder and the crowd roared. The man groaned in pain, but dodged in time to avoid any fatal injuries.

Donghae went berserk. He started slashing aimlessly. Kai dodged each slash with his long sword. He was swift and quick on his feet.

Sehun was proud. His prince was good.

After many long minutes of fighting, Sehun recognized more of the strategy involved Kai’s fighting.

But everything stopped when Kai’s sword received a hard blow and he stumbled a little backwards and Donghae took the advantage, thrusting his sword right into Kai’s abdomen.

The prince slumped back and fell to the ground. The front of his shirt turned red as Donghae drew back the sword. Kai's abdomen was sliced open. Only Sehun’s scream was heard in the silent arena.


	9. 'Your fault'

It felt like the ground beneath Sehun had disappeared. His legs wobbled and if he wasn't sitting, they would have given up on him ages ago. His eyes were fixed on the body laying in the middle of the arena, covered in blood. He blinked a couple of times when he felt his eyes stinging. Was Prince Kai going to die because of him? Because Sehun was too weak to fight for himself? His hands were balled into a tight fist and his knuckles were turning white. The scream he let out when Kai was stabbed had caught a lot of attention.

Sehun's vision started to get blurry as tears threatened to drop from his eyes. He blinked several times, his gaze fixed on Kai who was flincing and groaning on the ground. The Prince hadn't passed out. He tried to lift himself up, taking long deep breathes. The crowd started its uproar, trying to cheer him up. The expression on Kai's face looked pure barbaristic. It seemed as if he was ready to rip Donghae's head off, even though Kai was the one who was injured.

Donghae, like a noble knight, just stood there and watched his former-student Kai trying to get up. No empathy could be seen in his face. He was dead serious about the fight and it seemed that he wouldn't even hesitate to take Kai's life if he had to. He was trained to kill, after all. And he was in a do or die situation. If he didn't defeat his opponent, there was a chance he could die himself. Therefore, Sehun could never hold it against him. Donghae was just doing what he was asked to do by the King. Under normal circumstances, Sehun was sure that the man and Prince Kai got along very well.

Sehun could only pray that Kai would surrender. He didn't care about the trials anymore. He didn't care about his life anymore. He didn't want to live his entire life burdened by the guilt of the Crown Prince's death. He glanced at Baekhyun sitting beside the King, his face pale and lifeless. And he was staring right back at Sehun. He mouthed something, but Sehun could barely read it. He kept repeating until it finally hit Sehun. "Confess," Sehun muttered to himself. The master of coins was asking him to confess. The Trial by Combat can be stopped by fulfilling two conditions. One, if the person who had made the accusations against the prisoner would take it back. The King will never do that, Sehun knew it. The second condition was if the prisoner would confess to being guilty. That is, Sehun had to confess to being guitly of murdering the Queen and that he deserved the punishment the King would be giving him, the fight would stop. And Kai didn't have to get hurt anymore.

It was decided. Sehun was going to confess. He abruptly got up, walking to the front so he could see everybody's face clearly. Baekhyun flashed him a small smile and Sehun nodded in return. His stomach dropped when he saw Kai clutching the wound on his abdomen. The Prince was ready to attack again as he testingly swung the sword on his other hand. "Everybody, listen!" Sehun screamed, trying to be as loud as possible. Almost everyone in the arena, including Kai, looked at him. 

Sehun opened his mouth to say something else but stopped when another person's cry echoed throughout the arena. "The king! The King! Someone, help!" It was the Hand, Shon, who was cluthing the King's shoulders in his arms. The ruler of the Seven Kingdoms had his eyes closed and it looked like he was having a seizure. His body violently jerked and a thick layer of sweat glistened on his skin as one of his hands was clutching his chest.

Sehun's throat went dry as he saw people panicking as they ran towards the King. Kai dropped his sword and so did Donghae. The Prince started to slowly walk towards the King, a hand over his wound to stop the bleeding. He looked like he was about to pass out any minute. Rather than thinking about the King, Sehun was more bothered about Kai. The blonde boy took quick steps down the arena towards Kai whose movement had become slow due to his injury. "You-- you need to take care of yourself first," he said, as he lightly touched Kai's arm. Kai jerked at the touch, giving a deathly glare to Sehun. "This is... This is all your fault," he said, almost growling, and Sehun was taken aback. He didn't say anything as Kai quickly rushed to his father's side and the guards came running towards him, trying to secure the captive who had walked down to the arena.

The King was surrounded by his men, but the guard pushed most of them back. Only allowing Kai, Baekhyun, Shon and a some others to stand beside the King. The shaking and shivering had stopped. The old man's body was finally at rest. Both of his hands fell down lifeless on each side of his body. Sehun watched as Baekhyun gently put a couple of fingers on the King's wrist. He took a long shaky breathe as he looked up at the Hand, and then at Kai. "He is no more," he spoke softly, but Sehun could read his lipsing. Kai dropped to his knees as the others lifted the lifeless body of the late-king to take him back into the castle.

\- - -

Sehun couldn't stop pacing back and forth in his room. He was biting on his nails. He was brought back to his prison cell and was confined to four walls again. The boy had no idea that the person who would be dying that day would be the King himself. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be happy and relieved or agitated and unsettled. The King had a heart attack. The way his body jerked and the way he was clutching his chest, it was obvious. A small beam of hope flashed for Sehun. His captor, Kai's father, was dead. The sadist King who had made him a prisoner with no dignity was no longer alive. Maybe it was finally a chance for Sehun to meet his family again. He missed them. Everytime he would think about them, emotions and memories would hit him like a battering ram. He wanted nothing more than melting into Luhan's warm embrace.

Also, Sehun wanted to know if Kai was okay or not. As much as the Prince wanted to claim that whatever he had done, it wasn't for Sehun, the boy still felt like he owed him. And deep down inside he knew that he was starting to care about Kai, even the slightest bit. What bothered Sehun the most was the fact that when the King died of a natural death, Kai had blamed it all on him. Kai's words echoed in Sehun's head. 'This is all your fault.' The way Kai had said it with so much of venom, Sehun couldn't help but get a little hurt. What had he do? How was that his fault?

He also realized he wanted to talk to Krystal about the event that took place before the trial. 'He's waiting', she had said. He had to know who. And was that person still in King's Landing?

So many questions, but nobody was there to answer.

Lady luck wasn't on Sehun's side. Seven days had passed yet he still didn't know what was happening outside the cell. No one would come to visit him, except for the handmaidens who would give him food everyday. The guards that were stationed outside never responded to any of his queries. And every hour seemed to be dragging longer and longer and Sehun felt like he had been stuck in the room for eternity.

\- - -

"The preparation for the coronation ceremony is almost done, your Highness. You are requested to read and sign all the treaties before that." Shon, the Hand of the former King said in a very monotone voice. As he spoke, he tried to avoid any kind of eye contact with Kai, even though he was sitting right in front of him. 

It was the third Council meeting after the King's death. The memories of his Father's funeral had burned into Kai's mind. He remembered how broken Chanyeol looked and how depressed the entire environment was. Even Baekhyun, who always mananged to smile in the toughest situations, looked like he had aged ten years in just a day. Kai usually was never the one who would get emotionally affected, but he couldn't help himself. Everytime the image of his father writhing and holding his chest and his eyes rolling up would flash in his mind, his heart would go heavy. 

Kai's wound from the trial hadn't healed. A cloth was wrapped around his abdomen. He knew it was going to leave a scar but he couldn't care less.

"I will get some of the paper work done for him," Baekhyun said, offering to help Kai.

"No. I shall do them all myself. The coronation has not taken place but with father gone I am the King and I need to overlook all the treaties once." Kai stated, his eyes fixed on Shon. "For now, I have more important things to discuss." He continued. "Shon." The hand jumped a little at the sound of the new King's voice call his name. Kai smirked. "Hand me your badge," was the only thing Kai needed to say.

Shon knew that his role as the Hand of the King was done. His face was starting to get red when he took off the Hand's badge from his coat and handed it to the new ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. "Also," Kai muttered, squeezing the badge in his hand. The King's hand was a position of many responsibilities. The Hand was always second in command, after the King himself. "Get out," he ordered, a bored expression on his face. "You are no longer eligible to be a member of the Council."

Shon's fists shook and he looked offended beyond words. Grand Maester Amon decided to speak up. "Your Highness. I am sure you can let him sit in this one meeting." He said, his tone softer than usual.

Kai could only scoff in return. "Do you want to get replaced too, Maester Amon? Think I would prefer a younger woman sitting here instead of a old waste of space like you." He commented, which completely seemed to have shut Amon up. Shon stood up and simply left the room, without bidding a farewell. He seemed to be fuming with rage. He should be grateful, Kai thought. The boy had only stripped him off his title. If he wanted to, he could execute Shon in a matter of minutes, but he wouldn't. Kai wasn't like his Father.

Baekhyun intentionally cleared his throat. "Your grace, may I ask, who do you want as your Hand? That position needs to filled as soon as possible. They will be incharge of all the council meetings, after all."

Kai didn't have to think. He answered instantly. "You."

Baekhyun flashed a small, kind smile. "I am honoured you think so highly of me, your Highness. But I have to humbly reject your offer."

"Not an offer. This is an order. You are to be my Hand. I will appoint someone else at the Master of the Coins." 

Baekhyun sighed inaudibly. He knew he couldn't argue with Kai.

The meeting was over soon and Kai went back to his room. He needed some time alone. Some time to think. He knew he would be the King soon because of his Father's bad health, but everything was still new to him. But it was okay. Ever since he was a little kid, he had been thought how to rule the Kingdoms. The tactics, planning, everything. He just needed to put his mind into it. But he couldn't when he was so obviously distracted by none other than bratty Oh Sehun. His mind will always wonder if Sehun was doing okay and if he should visit his cell. But Kai pushed the thoughts away. He had more important things to take care of, after all.

\- - -

Chanyeol looked up at the sky as his hands rested on the railing of the balcony. His cheeks were pink because he had too much to drink. And he couldn't stop the occasional hiccups that would escape his lips. "What a sad time to be alive. The King, the Queen, both dead." He said, slurring his words a little.

"Here. This will help you with the hiccuping." Baekhyun said as he offered him a small goblet with water in it.

Chanyeol chuckled as another hiccup escaped his lips. "Did you know that you are very 'wife-material'?" He jested, chugging the liquid down. The cool water felt nice against his throat.

Baekhyun almost blushed, but hid it by turning to the other side. "What makes you say that?" 

Chanyeol just shrugged. "I do not know. You take care of me when I am sad."

"Sounds more like a Mother than a wife." Baekhyun said and rolled his eyes.

Chanyeol laughed. It was a nice sound, Baekhyun had to admit. Something he would want to listen to everyday. Chanyeol had been the one who was affected the most by the former King's death. It was surprising, because the King did not even seem to be aware of his second son's existence. Mainly because he was bastard. Or rumoured to be one. But Baekhyun knew it was true. He had trustworthy sources tell him so. Chanyeol was not only a bastard, but was also a product of incest. The King and his younger sister. "Heathen. Monster. Abomination." Chanyeol had been called a lot of things and it always broke Baekhyun's heart. Maybe that was the reason why the Master of Coins would always have a soft spot for him.

"Say," Chanyeol spoke. "What is going on between brother and that Oh prisoner?" He asked, curiousity filling his voice. "Why did he represent him in the Trials?"

Baekhyun smiled. "Sehun? I think your brother likes him."

Chanyeol brust into a fit of laughter. "What horseshit are you spewing? Kai isn't capable of anything like that."

"That is what I thought as well. But I think people can change." Baekhyun said as he noticed Chanyeol had stopped hiccuping. "And I do believe that Sehun is a good influence on Kai."

Chanyeol couldn't help but nod. "We all need someone who will take care of us, right?" He smiled.

Baekhyun smiled back. "Absolutely." He breathed out. And he knew Kai needed a person like that the most.


	10. 'I will not lie to you'

Whispers. Murmurs. More Whispers and muffled sounds. They were voices. Soft, low. They felt so distance and yet so close. But Kai couldn't understand a word they were saying. He tried to listen, hard. But it was beyond impossible. He tried to open his eyes, but his head felt heavy. His body felt numb. The image of watching his father's lifeless body getting carried away by his men flashed into his mind. But the thought quickly went away when the voices suddenly died, the images fading out also, as a result.

It was evident that Kai had been having a lot of nightmares recently. First about Sehun, if that could be called a nightmare. And then about his dead father. But he decided not to think about them too much because he had other more important things that needed his attention.

Kai winced in pain a little when he sat up on his bed. The wound on his abdomen had just started to heal but the lingering pain was evident. It was morning. He needed to get his wound redressed and eat or drink the medical herbs. He also had a lot of pre-coronation work to do. Kai had a very less time given to grieve for his father before all the responsibilities were thrown into his shoulder. Even though Baekhyun would always tell him that he was there to help, Kai knew he was in it all alone. And he was not complaining. Because it was his duty. His honour. His purpose for life. Ruling the seven Kingdoms.

\- - -

The evening twilight was drawing near to an end. Zitao watched as he saw the sun disapearing into the horizon. The sky was painted in beautiful colours. But he wasn't in the brightest mood to enjoy the scenery unfolding in front of him. He was tired, drained out. Dark circles had taken residence under his eyes. He couldn't sleep properly. He worried about his cousin, Sehun. He worried about what the Kims would do to him if they find out he was in Westeros. He worried if cousin Luhan would be pissed if he found out that Zitao had sneaked out of Winterfell to infiltrate King's Landing in order to save his little brother Sehun. But what Zitao did not know was that his plan would fail and he wouldn't be able to save his cousin who was held captive. 

He cursed at his incapabilities. But he wasn't going to give up. He had to keep trying. He refused to return home without Sehun. He was an Oh, after all. Blood before everything. Family first, even if it was going to cost Zitao his very own life. He had managed keep out of suspicion by staying hidden in a small brothel in the slum areas by paying a handsome amount of coins to the owner. He wore commoner clothes, much to his dismay, and used an alias so people wouldn't find out that he was nephew of the Lord of Winterfell. 

Through the few trusted connections he had in King's Landing, Zitao had found out that his childhood friend, Jung Krystal, was serving as an apprentice to the Grand Maester. Eventually coming in contact with her, he had requested her to help him save Sehun. She seemed hesitant at first, scared of the King and Prince Kai. But she agreed to it later on because she had become very fond of the Ohs when she had visited Winterfell with her dad in her childhood. It wasn't much of a surprise, though. The Ohs were very good at treating their guests. But the plan, unfortunately, had failed. When Krystal had come to visit him later in the Brothel, she said that Sehun didn't want to escape. That she offered him to be free, but he denied.

"Nonsensical! What a load of bull!" Had been his reaction when Krystal had looked straight into his eyes and told him that what she was saying was true. Why the bloody seven hells would Sehun not want to escape? Zitao wanted to hit his head on a wall, hard. It must be Sehun acting righteous, again, he was sure. Zitao just wished that his cousin would sometimes think about himself first.

"Did you at least tell him that I am here?" Zitao had asked her. She simply shook her head. "I-I am so sorry, Tao. I didn't know what to do. A guard walked in. I was so scared. I thought they were going to send me to the prison too." She was shaking a little. Zitao had told her it was fine. That she didn't have to worry about it for the time being. They would certainly be trying again. "This time," he said, taking a deep breathe. "Take me with you."

\- - -

Krystal figdets nervously, her eyes fixed on the floor. She didn't dare to look up at the Prince and make any kind of eye contact. It looked like she was scared out of her wits.

Kai made an unimpressed sound. His facial expression screamed annoyance. "If you have to say something, be quick. If you don't, scram." He made it clear for her. The Prince, heir to the Iron Throne, was busy going through the treaties of the Seven Kingdoms. He didn't have time for nuisance like the apprentice of the Maester's whose name he didn not even know or did not think was important to know.

"Your Highness, I--" She spoke, stopping midsentence for a second. She let out a long sigh and opened her mouth again. "I am here to confess something." She said.

That seemed to have caught Kai's attention a little, but only for a second. "Which is?" He asked.

Krystal finally looked up, her eyes glassy. "Oh Zitao." She said, her voice almost a whisper. "Oh Zitao is in King's Landing. And he plans on taking back the Prisoner."

Kai's eyebrow twitched. He narrowed his eyes at her. "You saw him?" He asked, anger seeping into his voice.

She nodded, thick rolls of tears dripping down her cheeks. "I-- I did. He contacted-- me." She was downright sobbing.

Kai rolled his eyes. The Oh house and its members were a total menace. "Do you know where he is?" He asked, stacking the papers on the table.

Krystal hesitated for a bit. "Will-- Will you spare me if you say I did?" She asked.

Pathetic. Kai thought to himself. He hated cowards the most. No honour. No dignity. But he was soon going to be King soon. He had to think about his people. And he couldn't let Oh Zitao run wild and disrupt his sanity and peace. Both the King and the Queen were dead. King's Landing was still grieving and the people were chaotic and impatient. He sighed, nodding. "You will be spared." He replied, his voice monotone, without any emotions.

She gulped before she burst crying out loud again. Kai wanted to tell her to shut her trap already but he just gritted his teeth. Her tears of guilt for betraying her friend had no effect on the Prince. He felt no empathy or sympathy or anything that sort for her. She managed to tell him the place where Zitao was hiding in between her sobs. Kai made a mental note of it as he dismissed her, and asked his guard to call Byun Baekhyun to his chamber.

\- - -

"Oh Zitao?" Baekhyun asked, looking astonished. "That was a name I was not expecting to hear anytime soon, your Grace." He said, his eyebrows slighty furrowed. "Do you think...?" 

"I do not think. I know." Kai replied. 

"We should talk to Sehun," Baekhyun said.

Kai felt a warm feeling spread over his chest at the mention of the boy's name. "I agree." He responded.

Baekhyun seemed a little suprised but didn't say anything as he retrieved the keys to Sehun's cell and they both walked to the prison. He would try to make small talk with the Prince but the latter didn't seem to be in a very chatty mood. Which was completely normal. Kai was never in a chatty mood.

Kai grabbed the key from Baekhyun's hand and unlocked the door to cell that belonged to Sehun. He plunged the door open, only to notice that Sehun was putting on a shirt was almost shirtless. Kai's eyes trailed down to Sehun's milky white stomach and he felt a pang of guilt when he saw how skinny the boy looked. He chuckled a little when he saw that Sehun's face had turned completely red as he forced the shirt to slide how his neck and hands to cover his body. Kai would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy seeing Sehun getting all flustered and shy. 

"What happened to knocking and all that decency?" Sehun asked, even though he sounded like he was mumbling to himself. But Kai heard him alright.

Kai looked straight at Sehun who seemed to be avoiding his gaze. "Why? Not confident about your body?"

Sehun glared at Kai, his cheeks pink from embarassment. To Kai he looked more like an angry little pup. "Why are you here?" He asked.

Kai had almost forgotten the existance of Baekhyun but was reminded of it when the Master of Coins cleared his throat behind the Prince, slowly walking inside the cell. He looked at Sehun and smiled. "Sehun! How are you?" He asked, like he was meeting an old friend after a long time.

Sehun seemed a little annoyed, but replied anyway. "Living, I guess." Maybe he liked Baekhyun, Kai concluded. Everybody liked Baekhyun.

Kai scoffed. "You and your bratty mouth." 

Sehun opened his mouth to say something else but his eyes fell on the cloth that was wrapped around Kai's abdomen, over his garmet, to cover his wound. The wound that he got from the Trial. Sehun visibly gulped. "Are-- Are you feeling okay?" He asked, blinking a couple of times.

And Kai could see it clearly in Sehun's eyes. Guilt. Curiousity. Worry. "Living, I guess," he replied, copying Sehun's answer.

Sehun laughed and Kai tried his best not to look taken aback when his heart did a quick somersault at the sound of Sehun laughing.

Look at you two bonding, Baekhyun wanted to comment but he stopped because he knew it would probably piss his future King off. Kai was very easy to rile up, after all. "Sehun. We came here to discuss-"

"Your cousin is in town." Kai interupted him. "The one with the ugly piercing." He remembered what Zitao looked like. 

Sehun's mouth fell open. "Tao?" He asked. "Cousin Tao is here?"

Baekhyun nodded. "We got to know thi--"

"Jung Krystal told us." Kai interupted Baekhyun again.

It seemed like someone had slapped Sehun on his face. Or stolen all his money. Or had done both. Because the blood from his face had drained. He looked paler, if that was even possible.

"Happen to know anything about it?" Kai asked.

Sehun frantically shook his head but Kai knew he was lying. "Is Krystal okay?" He asked.

Kai wanted to laugh at how naive Sehun was. "She is brilliant." He muttered, sarcastically. Little did Sehun know that Krystal had ratted out on his beloved cousin Zitao.

"That is besides the point, Sehun." Baekhyun said. "For now."

Sehun nodded. He knew what they were going to say. "You think Zitao killed the queen?" He slowly asked.

Kai decided to reply. "I do not think. I know." He repeated when he had said to Baekhyun a few moments ago.

Sehun bit his lower lip. "Aren't you doing the same thing your father was doing?" He asked.

Kai raised an eyebrow. "What?" He asked dryly.

"Its the same thing. When the late King assumed I was the killer. And now you are assuming Zitao is the killer. What is the difference?" Sehun asked, holding Kai's gaze.

Kai's mouth opened for a second but he quickly closed it.

Baekhyun pressed his upper lip against his lower to suppress the smirk that was threatening to play on his lips.

"But he is here for you, right? You Ohs are such whores for eachother. Blood before everything and all that fuckery." Kai commented, letting out a humourless chuckle.

"Of course, family comes first," Sehun replied, like it was the most obvious thing ever. "And you think I don't know he is here for me?" He let out a sigh. "But Zitao is not capable of killing. That I can assure you."

Kai rolled his eyes. He would never understand these Northerners. "And why should we trust you?"

Sehun looked straight into Kai's eyes. "Because you know I will not lie to you."

Kai held Sehun's gaze for a second. He looked determined. Almost confident.

Baekhyun spoke up. "But we need to capt-- I mean, summon him in the Castle. Did you know he is staying in a brothel?" He asked.

Sehun's eyebrows furrowed. He lower lip slightly trembled. It was difficult for the boy to digest every information. He looked at Kai with pleading eyes. "Tao-- Tao would never hurt a soul. He did not kill anyone. Please, just tell me please you won't do anything to him."

"Shouldn't you be more worried about your imprisoned demented arse?" Kai asked, almost amused.

"Please," Sehun repeated himself. Even though he was literally begging, his voice was earnest and sincere.

Kai gulped. He wasn't sure how to reply when Sehun was acting so vulnerable in front of him. He decided to just turn around and leave the cell with an impassive expression. He wasn't running away. He was just trying to prevent a disaster that he might cause.

"Wait. Wait." Sehun called out and Kai immediately stopped. He looked back, raising a questioning eyebrow. "What?" He asked.

Sehun looked at Baekhyun for a second. And then back at Kai. "Can I-- Can I talk to you? Alone?" He asked.

Baekhyun's eyes grew wide. He let out an awkward laugh. "Of course, of course." He said, walking out of the cell. "Talk your hearts out," he jested, before existing the room, closing the door in process.

Kai smirked. "Are you planning to seduce me?"

"Oh my god." Sehun muttered, shaking his head. "You are insufferable."

Kai shrugged. "Been called worse."

"I just--" Sehun spoke. "I just want to thank you. For, what you did. I know you didn't do it for me, but. I owe you. I will pay you back I promise I can--"

Kai raised a hand. "Stop," he said. "Do you know how dumb you sound right now?"

Sehun huffed. "What is with you? I am trying to be nice here." He complained.

"Funny how you are being nice to your Captor's son."

"My captor's son who also saved my life." Sehun corrected him and smiled, a genuine smile. And Kai felt himself getting pulled towards it. It was painfully beautiful.

The Prince nodded in response. "Touche." He said.

"Also, Kai... sorry about what happened to your father." Sehun sounded genuine.

Kai smiled. It was a small upward curve of the edges of his lips, but it was a smile, nonetheless. Something which he rarely expressed. "Me too," he said.

\- - -

Baekhyun was grinning from ear to ear when he saw Kai exiting the prison cell. "Done with your private time, your Highness?" He jested.

"Do you want to get beheaded, Byun?" Kai retaliated.

Baekhyun pretended to gasp and shook his head. "I was thinking," he said when Kai and him started walking back to the King's Chamber, which was going to Kai's work place soon. "About the whole Hand of the King situation."

Kai looked at Baekhyun momentarily. "What of it?" He asked.

Baekhyun chose his next words carefully. "I have a suggestion to make."

Kai stopped walking and turned completely towards his Master of Coins. He knew what Baekhyun was going to say. "Are you insane?" He muttered.

Baekhyun just stood there, gazing hopefully at the Prince. "Your Grace, you know it's worth a shot."

Kai glared daggers at him. "You want me to make Oh Sehun, the son of Lord of Winterfell, my late father's Captive, a bratty kid, the Hand of the King?"

Baekhyun tried to suppress his smile. "You said it yourself, your Highness, I didn't."


	11. 'You are a smooth talker'

Ten. Ten more days until Luhan would see his little brother again. Was he eating good? Did he get enough sleep? Was he treated properly? The worries would never leave Luhan's mind. But he couldn't help himself. Sehun was the most important person to him. His safety was his first priority. Yet he found himself in the position where he was miles apart from him. Luhan cursed himself for being so weak. But no more. He was not going to stand and watch his brother suffer. He was going to get him back home, sound and safe.

He looked at the river stretched in front of him. They had camped on the riverside for the day. It was getting dark and the men needed to eat. They were marching south, to King's Landing. Luhan had managed to gather all of the bannermen. House Jeon, house Jung, and house Min. His army stood strong. But he would not underestimate the power of House Kim in the iron throne. But when the news that the King had died hit him, Luhan knew it was the best time to enact the rebellion. Kai was going down. And Luhan made sure he was the one who did it.

"Need some company?" He heard a soft voice speak behind him. Luhan turned around to see his cousin Jeonghan smiling at him.

Luhan nodded. 

Oh Jeonghan ran a hand through his long golden locks. The blonde hair was the dominant trait of every child in House Oh. "You look tired, Luhan. You need more sleep. You will worry the people following you if you don't take care of yourself."

Luhan sighed. "You think I don't want to sleep? I would love to. But everytime I do... I get these nightmares." His eyes were fixed on the river. The sound of water running was oddly calming.

Jeonghan closed his eyes for a second. "I hope he is doing okay. No, wait. I know he is doing okay. Cousin Sehun is strong."

Luhan forced a small smile. "He is a tough child."

Jeonghan cleared his throat and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Can I ask you how it happened?"

"How what happened?"

"Sehun," Jeonghan replied. "How did he become a Captive?"

Luhan made a noise of disapproval. "Don't call him that."

Jeonghan nodded. "O-Of course."

"Father and Sehun were visiting King's Landing to pay regards to the King. The late horseshit eating King wanted Father to be the Warden of the North. Sehun accompanied him because he had never been to King's Landing before. It all happened there." Luhan took a deep breath and continued. "During the royal dinner, the King started molesting a young maid in front of everyone. And Sehun," he paused, looking at Jeonghan. "Being Sehun, he couldn't stand it. He spoke up. He objected it."

Jeonghan bit his lower lip. "So the rumors of Sehun insulting the King are not true, after all."

Luhan chuckled humorlessly. "Insult? He was standing up for what was right. Don't we teach our children that everyday? That sickly old flesh lump of a King. He had the audacity to-" Luhan's hands trembled as he clenched them into fists. "Audacity to drag him to the dungeons. And calling him a dog with no manners. And Father. He just watched. Watched as his son was taken away by the King." Luhan gritted his teeth. He could never forgive his Father for letting go of Sehun so easily. Blood before everything. Even before loyalty to the King.

"It's so sad." Jeonghan said, almost a whisper. "But uncle Sangnim was helpless. They were the only Northeners there. He couldn't fight back," he defended Sehun's Father.

Luhan knew deep down inside that their Father was not at fault. He was helpless. But Luhan was not ready to acknowledge it yet. "I am pissed that I didn't get to murder that vile Sadist King with my own bare hands." He muttered.

"Well. His son is alive. The new King. You can murder him instead," Jeonghan jested.

But Luhan did not seem like he was in the mood to joke. He was completely serious. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I will make sure he dies a very painful death."

\- - -

Sehun looked up at the ceiling as he laid awake on the prison bed. He couldn't stop thinking about Kai had said about Zitao. Cousin Tao capable of murder? Never. He would never. And nothing was going to make Sehun believe otherwise. He let out a soft sigh. Tao was in King's Landing for Sehun. And Kai was looking for him. Because of him, his cousin was in danger. Sehun sat up and brought his knees close to his chest. He still was not sure what to think of Prince Kai yet. Prince Kai who was about to be a King soon. Surely he was arrogant and rude. And also a little vain. But Sehun knew that he was not a bad human being and was nothing like his Father. Kai had compassion, spirit. He was brave. Braver than almost anyone Sehun had ever met. But the young King was still a mystery to him. And Sehun would be lying if he said he did not want to unfold that mystery and solve the puzzle.

A sound of shuffling keys was heard and before Sehun could realize, the door to his cell flung open. He saw a familiar looking guard at the door with a stoic posture. Sehun quickly stood up, a questioning expression on his face.

"King's orders. You shall come with me," the guard said.

Sehun's head filled up with all the possibilities of the event but he only nodded in response. Did Kai need to see him again?

He followed the guard in silence. After staying in captivation for a while, he knew that asking the guards question would be useless. Because they almost never answer. Only grunt and scoff. It was evident that Sehun had a pretty bad impression of every guard that was stationed in King's Landing.

They walked down the corridor and into the castle. Sehun saw a few handmaiden pass by him. One of them gave him a shy smile. He smiled back and both the girls started giggling as they walked away. The guard finally stopped in front of a door. He signaled Sehun to step inside. 

Was Kai inside the room, waiting for him? Sehun's stomach flipped at the thought but he quickly pushed it away. He slowly opened the door, only to notice that the room was completely empty. Slighly disappointed, Sehun looked back at the guard. "What am I supposed to do here?"

To Sehun's complete surprise, the guard answered. "Get cleaned up. There are new clothes on the bed. You are to attend the new King's coronation ceremony."

Sehun's eyes widened in surprise. He looked back at the bed and the guard was right. There were fresh clothes. He opened his mouth to say something but the guard was already gone. Rude. He sighed, walking inside the room and closing the door. The coronation ceremony. Did Kai think Sehun was worthy enough to attend? Was this pity? No, Sehun knew Kai wasn't pitying him. Then why? But he had no time to think. He had a ceremony to attend.

\- - -

Sehun hadn't felt this good in awhile. Firstly, because he felt fresh. Clean. And he was finally wearing something which wasn't plain white tunic and pants. Secondly, he hadn't seen this many people in a very long time. The throne room was filled with men and women from all around Westeros. Lords, Knights, Maesters, all dressed in fine clothes. The ceremony was almost about to end. Kai had taken his oaths in front of the new gods and the Iron Throne. 

"All hail King Kai! Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Rightful owner of the Iron Thrones." The High Septon had declared and the hall had erupted in cheers and chants as the crown was gently put on Kai's head. 

And Sehun did not fail to notice how Kai would often glance at him, even just for a couple of seconds. And how good Kai looked dressed up in his royal attire, a royal blue colored vest. 

Baekhyun was standing right next to him, looking more proud than ever. The man truly cared for Kai, Sehun realized. 

A dinner party was organized for the celebration of a new King. Sehun felt a little out of place, but it was much better than being stuck in a small room, doing nothing. His chest felt lighter when he noticed Kai stepping down for the throne towards the crowd. Sehun needed to talk to him. He started walking towards his, politely making his way in the crowd. But he suddenly stopped when he noticed Kai was already engaged in talking to someone.

It was a short man with dark hair who looked like he must be a son of some Lord. He started talking to Kai in an animated way. But Sehun could not believe his eyes when Kai flashed the brightest smile ever and laughed. His eyes crinkled and even amidst all the noise, he could hear him laughing. For the first time ever, Kai looked genuinely happy and having fun, laughing along with the small man in front of him. And Sehun would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous.

Sehun turned back to walk away but bumped into an awfully tall person.

"Seven hells-! Sorry, sorry." The young man muttered, his eyes growing wider.

Sehun nodded his head. The other person looked awfully familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Wait. Are you not that Oh Prisoner?" The man exclaimed. He had perky ears and wild hair. And his deep voice did not match his cute face. Also, he seemed a little tipsy.

That is when it hit Sehun. "Prince Chanyeol?" He asked but quickly corrected himself, he could not talk so informally to the King's brother. "I mean, your Highness? Are you-?"

Chanyeol beamed, putting his arm around Sehun's shoulder. "I can see why Kai gets so riled up about you. You are much prettier in person."

Sehun's mouth fell slightly open.

"But you still look you could use some grand wine! Come," Chanyeol said, dragging Sehun with him towards the table full of expensive liquor. 

"No, no. Wait," Sehun tried to protest, but it did not seem like Chanyeol was going to listen to him. He glanced back at Kai, who instead of talking to the small man in front of him, was looking directly at Sehun with a questioning expression. He must be wondering about the tall Prince who was border-line manhandling Sehun.

They stopped at table. Sehun's eyes hovered over all the drinks and appetizers.

"How did you escape from your cell, Master Oh?" Chanyeol asked.

"Magic," Sehun replied and Chanyeol laughed. Chanyeol had a very refreshing laugh, Sehun noticed. And also a little contagious. "And just call me Sehun, your Highness." The boy continued.

Chanyeol nodded. "If only you stop calling me 'your Highness'." He grinned.

Sehun couldn't help but smile back. "You are a smooth talker, aren't you?"

Chanyeol winked at him and grabbed a goblet sitting on the table. "You northerners are not very familiar with our wine. We have the finest and oldest ones." He chimed. He offered a goblet full of purplish liquid to Sehun. It smelled amazing. Almost sweetly. Sehun sighed as he looked down at the liquid. Maybe getting a little drunk was not a bad idea.


	12. 'You look Kinder'

"How does it feel to be the Ruler of the Seven Kindgoms? You have dreamt about this day since you were a little boy." The short man flashed a blinding smile, the same smile Kai had always been fond of since the day he met him. He was the only kid who dared to talk to Kai and did not call him scary when his family was visiting King's Landing on Kai's thirteenth name day. 

King Kai shrugged nonchalantly, unable to hide the smile that was playing on his lips. Because everytime he saw Do Kyungsoo, the man in front of him, he was reminded of the old days. When resposibilities did not burden him so much. Kai knew he grew up too fast. He was always serious, even as a kid. But he did enjoy going to the market to buy steamy hot potatoes with Kyungsoo. And also fake sword fighting with sticks because Kyungsoo was scared of blades. Kai thought he was a giant pussy. He still did. But that was what made Kyungsoo himself.

"Are you being humble?" Kyungsoo joked, playfully slapping Kai's arm.

"You are always complaining, what a pain. I thought you wanted me to learn the ways of Humility." Kai retaliated, smirking.

Kyungsoo laughed, wiggling his eyebrows. "So after all these years, you finally decided to listen to me, hmm? Good to know."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Don't jizz your pants now." He could not admit that the change in his temperament was not because of Kyungsoo, but because of a certain Oh Sehun, who was always running in Kai's mind, even though he hated to admit it. 

Kyungsoo comically shook his head. "Nevermind, I take it back. You are never going to change, Your Highness."

The new King let out a heartly laugh, for the first time in a long time. It was something about Kyungsoo that felt homely. And warm. "You love me," Kai said.

Kyungsoo grinned. "Now that you are the King, I think might love you a little bit more." He jested, showing his pearly white teeth.

"You cunt," the King muttered, the grin never leaving his face. He was about to say something clever to his childhood friend but stopped when he saw Sehun talking to Chanyeol. He narrowed his eyes slightly. It was hard to see the faces because of the huge crowd. But Kai's eyes had never betrayed him. It was certainly Sehun and his brother. And it was confirmed when his eyes met Sehun's.

"Is something wrong?" Kyungsoo asked when he noticed Kai's attention was shifted to somewhere else. 

Kai hummed sub-consciously, his eyes traveling with Sehun, as Chanyeol took him further into the crowd. He cleared his throat. What was he doing? He was the King of the Iron Throne. He could not be affected by a mere boy, could he? A northerner. He was not bothered by what Sehun did or did not do, Kai tried to convince himself. Brats were not worth his time.

Or so he told himself.

Kyungsoo sensed something wrong. "Is there someone you need to attend to?" He asked, looking at the direction Kai was looking at.

Kai's eyebrow twitched with irritation. "None at all." He said.

Kyungsoo smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. "Where is the Master of Coins, Byun Baekhyun? I would love to meet him. He left quite a good impression on me the last time I met him."

"Baekhyun is a people pleaser. He is sweeter than it is required." Kai said, but it was in good nature. Baekhyun is one of the people he would trust his life with. Which is why when Baekhyun indirectly suggested him to make Sehun the Hand of the King, Kai actually considered the thought. Not because he finds Sehun adorable and it would be nice to have him around as often as possible. Not at all.

"Your Highness always has to say something about someone, does he not?" Kyungsoo jested again.

"Better than being a naive little man." Kai commented.

Kyungsoo smiled and shook his head. "I am not as naive as I used to be. You will see."

The new King raised his eyebrows and laughed. They walked towards Baekhyun who was busy talking to some handmaiden and complaining about the errors in the decoration. Typical Baekhyun behaviour. Kai introduced Kyungsoo to Baekhyun again. He was the first heir of House Do, who had swore their allegiance to House Kim for as long as Kai could remember.

Kai was preoccupied with people from every part of Westeros coming and greeting him, congratulating him. He was not sure if he could keep up with the fake smiling any longer. 

He decided to fetch a goblet of wine for himself. He was the King, goddamit. He had every right to enjoy the coronation. More than anyone else. He excused himself and went to the table where he had ordered the handmaidens to keep all of his favorite wine. Also, it was not like he was trying to look for Sehun or anything. Not at all.

It was a co-incidence when Kai very non-obviously walked exactly right in front of Sehun.

Or so he told himself.

Sehun's eyes widened when he saw Kai, and he turned the other way.

Kai scoffed. Did Sehun just ignore him? The nerve. He stepped next to him, clearing his throat.

The notherner was pretending to look at the ceiling, anything to avoid Kai's gaze. That is when Kai noticed the huge goblet on Sehun's hand. And it was almost empty. "Are you drinking?" Kai asked, he did not know why he sounded so surprised. And he also did not know why it made Sehun twice as amusing.

Sehun finally faced Kai, raising his eyebrows. He looked like a kid who was caught stealing sweets. "Me?" He asked, pointing a finger at himself.

Kai wanted to laugh at how innocent Sehun was trying to be. "Yes you, you galoot. Are you drunk?"

Sehun frantically shook his head. "Just a little tipsy." He said, bringing the tips of his thumb and index finger together to show the amount of 'drunk' he was. Kai noticed his cheeks were a tinsy bit pink. "I forgot to congratulate you. For being the King." The young Oh gestured at all the people around. "Look at all the happy faces who are here to celebrate. Can you believe You are actually the most important person in all of Westeros- No wait- All of Seven Kingdoms right now?" He continued.

Kai chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Or," Sehun replied and giggled. He actually giggled. Kai did not know his heart could race this fast. It was the cutest and probably the purest sound he had ever heard in his entire existance.

Sehun's eyes grew a little wider, if that was even possible. "Are you also a little drunk or are you blushing right now?" He lifted his finger up and lightly tapped Kai's cheek.

"Or," Kai replied, mimicing Sehun. But he could feel his cheeks burning more with the touch. What was happening? He needed to escape, fast. When he was a kid his father taught him that if he was in a fight and it seemed like there was no chance to win and his situation was going down-hill, the best way was to escape and get revenge afterwards. And that is what Kai was going to do. Escape. He pretended to go get a drink and walked away. 

Taking a deep breath, Kai shook his head. He laughed at himself. Seriously, what the fuck was happening? Kai had never faced a situation like this before so he did not know how to react. But it was not necessarily a bad feeling. He grabbed himself his very own goblet of wine.

Before he could return back to Sehun, he was interrupted by the Lords of Casterly Rock. He let out a sigh and he put up a facade, pretending to care about what the Lords said about their land and their disputes. More and more people swarmed towards him and soon Kai was engulfed by the chattery crowd, everyone trying to suck up to him. One of the daughters of the Lords called him the 'most handsome man in all of Westeros'. He wanted to say that 'he could not care less about what dimwit fucks like her think,' but he decided to be nice. At least on the day of his coronation.

Kai finally excused himself after some old man started talking about rumors of Dragons and the stories he used to listen to when he was a kid. He had barely taken any sip from his goblet but that was not really his concern. He put the wine down on the table. He was looking for Sehun. His eyes scanned the crowd but he could not find him.

He walked to Chanyeol who was pretty hard to miss because of his height. "Where is Sehun?" He asked him.

Chanyeol looked like he was having a blast with the ladies. "Who?" He asked, drunk out of his mind, grinning like a silly goose.

Kai let out a grunt of dissatisfaction. "Oh Sehun. The one you were talking to? The Captive-"

"Oh! The pretty one." Chanyeol replied with a grin.

Kai made a face. "What-"

"He went outside a while ago. Said something about fresh air, don't know. I think he-"

Before Chanyeol could finish what he was saying, Kai had already left.

Chanyeol chuckled. "When will my brother learn some manners? This is why I am the more attractive Prince. Girls love a gentleman, yes?" He asked the petite girl who was held in his arm. She giggled and nodded her head, and the other girls around them followed suit.

Kai throtted outside the main hall and towards the entrace. He noticed Sehun instantly, who was standing on the edge of the staircase leading to the garden.

"Had too much to drink?" Kai asked.

Sehun turned around and flashed a small smile. "Not really." He muttered. That is when Kai noticed Sehun's eyes. They were glossy. Was he crying? Kai's chest tightened with guilt. He wanted to ask if Sehun was okay, but he did not. It felt like Sehun would rather not talk about it.

Instead he just cleared his throat. Which he had been doing often when he was around Sehun. 

"What brings His Highness outside?" Sehun asked. "Were you looking for me?"

Kai, for the first time, decided to be honest. "Yes. I was getting bored. Wanted to torture my prisoner some more." Well, semi-honest. At least.

Sehun laughed. "I see, sadism runs in the family after all." He joked. But Kai could sense the slight bitterness in his voice. 

"I..." Kai replied. "Don't plan on hurting you anymore."

Sehun smiled, a more genuine and open smile. "I know."

Kai raised his eyebrows. "You do? How?"

Sehun bit his lower lip. "Its because." He took a deep breathe. "Your eyes. They have... changed. They don't look the same, when we first met. They are very different now."

Kai opened his mouth to say something but he did not know what to say. Normally, the King was very indifferent to compliments. It did not matter to him. He could not care less about what people think about him, as a person. All his life he had ever thought about was winning, fighting, conquering, making the Kingdoms his, power, making people fear and respect him. But this, this was different. He was not taught how to react to something like this.

"You look kinder." Sehun continued.

Kai laughed, baffled. "The alcohol has turned you insane."

Sehun rapidly shook his head. "I mean it. And stop, I am not that drunk. It was just one goblet."

Kai could not help but smile. A smile that reached his eyes, made them twinkle. 

Sehun smiled back. "I heard one of the Ladies call you 'the most handsome man in all of Westeros'."

"Oh?" Kai narrowed his eyes. "You were eavesdropping?"

Sehun giggled. That damn giggle again, bloody seven hells, Kai cursed mentally.

"No. It just means I have sharp ears." Sehun replied with a shrug.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Master Oh." Kai said.

"That is the first time you have ever called me that." Sehun's grin grew wider. "Thank you." He took a step towards Kai, closing the distance between them. "Thank you. For everything. For saving me from the clutches of your Father. For. Not being how I expected you to be." 

Kai could not focus anywhere except Sehun's eyes when the other boy leaned forward and gently pecked Kai's cheek. It felt like his heart was about to jump out of Kai's chest. He grabbed Sehun's hand as he attemped to walk away after the tiny peck of his. That is when Kai finally admitted to himself. He was attracted to Sehun. Way more than he could ever imagine. And it was going to drive him crazy. 

He grabbed Sehun's hips and crushed his body against his. Sehun let out a small gasp as his back hit the wall. Kai's hands slowly rubbed Sehun's sides as he pressed his lips against his Father's former captive. And Kai swore he had never tasted anything sweeter or touched anything softer before. It felt like Sehun was a piece of art that could easily break under his touch, and at that moment he wanted nothing but to make Sehun his own and wreck him underneath his touch.

Sehun was taken by surprise at first but he kissed him back, their lips slowly starting to move in the same rhythm. Kai felt like he was going to die when Sehun started breathing heavily. He did not even think he could possibly be this attracted to a man before. 

Kai wrapped his arms around Sehun's thin waist as Sehun gently put his palm on Kai's cheek. Just when the kiss was getting hotter and heavier, Sehun broke the contact. He looked so dazed. Like he was trapped in a trance. 

"I don't know about being the most handsome man, but you certainly are the best kisser in all of Westeros." Sehun said, smiling. His eyes a little droopy.

"Are you saying you have kissed all the people in Westeros, you slut?" Kai jested.

Sehun furrowed his eyebrows and playfully pushed Kai back. "You kiss me and then you call me a slut. Your Highness needs to learn how to be more romantic."

Kai raised his hands in defeat. "If you are looking for Romance, I am the last man you should seek out."

Sehun tilted his head to one side. "I don't know. You seem to be full of surprises."

"I could say the same for you." Kai replied which earned him Sehun's giggle.

And Kai swore to the Seven Gods that he would love to hear Sehun giggle for the rest of his goddamned life.

\- - -

"Ah. I have been thinking about visiting Highgarden for a very long time now. But never had the time to. How is your Father, Lord Do, doing?" Baekhyun asked as he sat alongside Kyungsoo, helping himself to some delicious pigeon soup, which was a royal favorite.

"He is chirpy as ever, even at this old age." Kyungsoo replied, smiling.

Baekhyun let out a chuckle. "That makes me want to visit your place more. I used to go there a lot when I was a kid."

Kyungsoo nodded. "I have heard. Father talks very highly of you. I wonder why we never met. Probably because I was always in the study room, reading every book I could find."

"You were a curious kid." Baekhyun smiled.

"I still am. Curious. Not a kid, of course. And I also like to learn. From everything." Kyungsoo said, his voice turning a little more serious. He sat straight, looking directly at Baekhyun's eyes. "This is why I am going to have to request something from you, My Master."

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows. "Which is?"

A hint of determination flashed in Kyungsoo's eyes. "Make me the Hand of the King. I promise you, My Master. I will never fail you. Or His Highness."


	13. 'If you need me'

"If I am allowed to ask, young Master, why the sudden interest?" The smile on Baekhyun's face did not falter. He was wise enough to be not too rude to the son of the Lord of Highgarden but also smart enough to not trust him blindly. Because of his position as the Master of Coins, Baekhyun realized that being a little suspicious of everything and everyone was a good thing, specially if it was related to the King and the Iron Throne.

"Its not sudden at all." Kyungsoo said and mirrored Baekhyun's smile. "I have always wanted to be the Hand. I just never voiced out my wishes. I have known the King for the longest time. What better helper for him that I?"

Baekhyun hummed in agreement. "That is right." He said. "But I am afraid to say that the King might have already chosen the Hand for himself." 

Kyungsoo looked shocked but he quickly gained his composure back. "He has? Who is it?" 

"He did not tell me the details," Baekhyun faked a small frown as he lied. Of course he knew Kai was thinking about making Sehun his hand. Baekhyun was the one who hinted it, after all. "But we should trust in the King and his decisions, yes?" 

Kyungsoo nodded. "Of course. But I hope you tell His Highness about our conversation." He said before he excused himself and left. Baekhyun let out a small sigh. Maybe his suspicions were wrong. Maybe Kyungsoo really meant well. But he did not want to take any chances. Better safe than sorry. Also, he liked Sehun a little more, but that was besides the point.

 

A couple of hours had passed after the coronation ceremony to declare Kai as the King of the Iron Throne and Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms had ended. Sehun was being escorted to the same room he was brought to before the ceremony to take a bath and get ready. It felt like everything was falling back into its place when Kai had informed him that he was dissolving Sehun's Imprisonment, now that he was the King. Sehun felt giddy after hearing that and wanted to kiss Kai again. His stomach fluttered when he remembered the physical contact between them.

Sehun had never been interested any boy or girl before. Back in Winterfell, he was always with his brother Luhan. And when he was around him, he felt like he did not need anyone else. Because Luhan was his everything. He felt safe with Luhan.

But with King Kai, it felt different. It felt like all the switches inside Sehun were turned on and he could do anything if he wanted, that nothing was possible. Also, Kai's smoldering look made Sehun weak in his knees.

He decided to rest for the remaining hours of the day because Kai had told him that he would be busy for a while, taking care of responsibilities. Sehun wondered if he could help Kai in anyway, but he knew the King would say that he would just get in the way because Sehun had always been naive and wore his feelings on his sleeve.

 

"You let the prisoner out, My King?" Grand Maester Amon asked as he checked the King's pulse. It was a mandatory process to make sure that the King was healthy and did not feel stressed. The Grand Maester's first priority was looking after the King's health.

"I did. Is there a problem?" Kai answered as Amon was checking some of the pressure points on his neck.

Amon smiled. "None at all, your Highness. I was just-" He cleared his throat. "I was just wondering why, is all."

Kai looked annoyed but he did not let it show in his voice. Grand Maester Amon was thrice his age. He was not going to get cocky with an old man who was probably going to die soon. "Because I was not around when Father had imprisoned him. So, I do not know the validity of his crimes." He replied, his body tensing up a little at the mention of the former King. The Grand Maester noticed that and massaged Kai's shoulders.

"I am in no place to say this, but, yes, your Father was known for making rash and quick decisions." Amon agreed.

Kai scoffed. "Funny how you say this after he is dead." He said. Nobody had ever uttered a word against the King when he was alive but everyone seemed to have a problem with him now that he had died, Kai noticed. It was not just the Grand Maester. It was everyone that surrounded the former King in one way or another, except Baekhyun.

Amon look flustered but did not speak anything.

"Also, I realized that letting Sehun go is the best decision for my people. I dont wish to start a civil war between the North and us." Kai continued.

"I had the impression that you were not afraid of War, your Grace?"

"I am not. But if unnecessary bloodshed can be avoided, I would choose not to go into war. Do you want to see thousands and thousand of people die just because Father got his ego bruised by a kid?" Kai blurted out. He also did not wish to see Sehun in that confined cell anymore.

Maester Amon did not say anything. He just nodded in reply and continued the check-up.

 

Sehun had a dream again. He woke up sweaty and slightly panting, his eyes looked bewildered. 

He finally saw luhan in his dream. He could not be happier. He started running towards him. But he stopped because he saw someone else on the way, another figure. The figure was extending a hand towards him, his face kind and calm. It was kai. For a second, Sehun completely forgot about Luhan when he saw the hand offered to him. A small smile formed on his lips as he took Kai's hand. The King smiled at him. But the happy feeling did not last at all when Sehun heard someone scream. It was Luhan. He was stabbed, blood gushing out of his guts as he fell to the floor. "Why, Sehun. Why." He whispered as he fell flat on the ground. 

And that is when Sehun woke up.

He had dreamt about Luhan dying, again. The last time he had the dream, Krystal said it was because of the herbs. But what was the reason now? Was it because of the kiss? Sehun shivered, thinking about the nightmare he just had.

He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror, he had gotten skinner.

He didn't know what the dream meant. But he needed to go back to Winterfell soon. He needed to see his brother, his family again. He needed to find cousin Zitao and take him with him, too. 'Blood before everything'. His family was his everything. Luhan was his everything. But something felt... Off. Did he really want to go back? After everything happened with Kai, was he ready to leave? Sehun did not like the fact that he was starting to second guess himself.

Sehun was declared as a guest of King's Landing. And as a result, everyone treated him differently. When he stepped out of his room, the lords who passed by him in the corridors would smile at him. The same Lords who would just sneer at the mention of his name. The guards did not look so menacing anymore. Everyone would call him 'master Oh.'

it was a good change but sehun wasn't very focused on it. He wanted to see Kai again, but the King was busy since yesterday after the ceremony. When he ran into Baekhyun, he said the king had to sign treaties and re-enforce some of the laws for the better of the people. Sehun smiled to himself. No matter how cold Kai was, he was going to be a good King. He was going to be nothing like his father.   

Sehun was amazing better food and warm clothes. He had one of the most delicious lunch ever. The food in King's Landing was much better than in Winterfell, he noticed. They seasoned their meat better and added side dishes. It felt like he could eat another serving, but he did not want to look greedy, so decided against it.

He was about to rest again when he heard a small knock on the door. A little excited, his ears perked up. It must be Kai, he thought to himself.

"Please, come in." Sehun said, fixing his hand and the new robe he was given to wear.

But it was not Kai. It was the small man Kai was talking to in the coronation. Sehun felt a little disappointed but soon it was replaced with curiousity.

"Master Oh?" The man said. He had the a very warm smile.

Sehun nodded, responding to his greeting. 

"I am Do Kyungsoo." He introduced himself. And then Sehun realized. House Do of Highgarden. Was he the son of the Lord there? He probably was. Sehun thought it would be rude to just ask him that.

Sehun respectfully bowed. "It is good to meet you, Master Do." He said.

Kyungsoo mirrored the bow. "Likewise, Master Oh." He said as he sat down on one of the chairs, gesturing Sehun to do so as well. "When I heard about you, I could not wait to see you. I have always been fascinated by Winterfell and the people there."

Sehun could not help but smile. "You flatter us, Master Do." He said.

Kyungsoo laughed. "I just speak the truth. The North is so different from here. I have heard it snows all the time. Is that true?"

"It is." Sehun nodded, sounding excited. He was like a kid who was talking about his favorite hobby. "But that is what I like the most about it. The snow makes everything look so pure and alive. It is a beautiful place." He smiled, thinking about his home. 

"Do you not miss it?" Kyungsoo asked.

Sehun was slightly taken aback. "I-I do." He replied.

Kyungsoo looked down and sighed. "It is difficult for me to see you like this. You have been released and declared as a Guest. But will you be allowed to leave?"

Sehun felt something weird. He did not know why, Kyungsoo's concern did not seem so genuine. It felt forced. But he could not deny the fact that Kyungsoo was speaking the truth. Sehun had to go back home, but he was not sure if he was allowed to.

"I am sure the King will let you." Kyungsoo answered himself with a smile. "His highness may seem a little unapproachable, but he has a good heart. I have known him ever since we were kids. We share a... special bond." He continued, the smile never leaving his face.

Sehun did not like the sound of that. But then he remembered how happy Kai looked when he was talking to Kyungsoo. He sighed internally.

Kyungsoo was quick to change the topic before Sehun could ask questions. He started to talk about Winterfell again, saying he was curious about how things worked there. Sehun fed all of his curiousity with replies and smiles. But he could not stop thinking about what Kyungsoo had said. Winterfell. Home. Going back to where he belonged.

 

After Kyungsoo left, Sehun was left pondering on what they conversed about. He remembered how his Father would tell him they were all fated to do something. Everyone, even peasants and thieves, had a purpose in life. And whatever happened, happened for a reason. Destiny. And he also remembered how Luhan would always disagree with him. His brother believed that a person makes his own life. There is no 'God's Plan' or whatsoever it is called. One of the reasons why Sehun always admired his brother more than he admired his father.

It was almost midnight when Kai finally knocked on the door. Sehun instantly knew it was him. Because the knocking was heavier and continuous. It couldn't be anyone but Kai.

The King looked tired when he entered. And a little drunk on wine. Sehun could smell the bitter-sweet scent. 

Before Kai could say anything, Sehun walked straight to him and hugged him. Kai looked surprised but immediately hugged the boy back. But he knew something was up when he felt Sehun's grip around him tightening. He slightly pulled back to see his face. Sehun looked upset. "Sehun, look at me. Did something happen? Did someone say something, I swear to Seven Hells if they-" 

"No, no." Sehun frantically shook his head as he let Kai go. "There's something I need to tell you."

Kai's face relaxed a bit. "Which is?"

"I-" Sehun said. "I need to go back home, Kai. I cannot stay here forever."

Kai's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but he did not say anything. He just stared at Sehun, waiting for Sehun to finish what he say saying.

"Now that I am no longer a Captive, I thought." Sehun took a deep breath. "I thought its time for me to finally go back..." He trailed off.

The next thing broke Sehun's heart into pieces, it physically hurt him. The sadness that flashed in Kai's eyes. He had never seen his that upset. But it quickly disappeared.

"Back to your family and brother, huh." Kai said, but his voice lacked emotions. Sehun winced at the way he said 'brother'. "The family values you Northerners have, really. Its commendable. But contradictory at the same time. If they really cared, why is none of them here for you now, Sehun? Why are you still in King's Landing? Why is the person who put you out of prison me? The same person you considered your enemy? You were going to get executed. Burned alive. And your fucking cousin who tried to help you escape by killing the queen-"

"Zitao didn't kill the queen!" Sehun exclaimed, louder than he intended to be. "Kai," he spoke again, this time softer. "If... If you don't let me go home, doesn't that still make me your captive? How is that any different than how I was before..." He said. He could clearly see the guilt flashing across Kai's face. His chest tightened. He did not want to see that look on Kai's face ever again.

The King pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sleep, sehun. We will talk about this tomorrow."

"But-" Sehun wanted to protest. 

"Just sleep." kai said. He looked like he had no energy or anything to say as he left the room. 

Sehun flopped into his bed. Was he too rude? Kai looked hurt. And tired. Was that a bad time to say the things he said? But why didn't Kai try to understand him? Sehun thought about the kiss and his heart started pounding. These feelings he had been experiencing, they were becoming clearer and clearer the more he thought about it. Sehun was falling for Kai. And it felt so wrong but so right at the same time and Sehun didn't know what he was going to do. 

 

"Is everything okay, my Grace?" Baekhyun asked when he noticed an absent-minded Kai walking towards his room.

It was like he broke Kai from his trance. He looked at Baekhyun and simply nodded. 

"You look tired. It is advicable to appoint your Hand as soon as possible, your Highness. Your workload will be decreased." Baekhyun spoke softly. He was worried that the King might overwork himself. "About Sehun, I could-"

"It does not matter." Kai said, cutting him off. "Sehun wants to go home. And I don't know how-" He sighed. "I don't know how to make him stay." 

Baekhyun was surprised to see how disheartened Kai looked when he said that. His guesses were right. Kai did have a very soft spot for Sehun. Was the King falling in love? The thought amused Baekhyun. He had never seen Kai acting affectionately towards anyone, let alone the son of the Lord of Winterfell.

"That is... quite unfortunate. I was beginning to think Sehun would have made an amazing Hand." Baekhyun confessed. "But it's understandable he wants to go home. He must miss them. He has been away for a long time now."

Kai just shrugged. It seemed like he did not want to talk about Sehun. Baekhyun could read his body language. "Is there anyone else you suggest?" The King asked him. "For the position of the Hand?"

Baekhyun thought for a second. "Well. There is Shon, but I don't recommend him. There is Lady Eun Sae's son. Also," he stopped for a second. "Master Do Kyungsoo, my Grace."

Kai's face lightened up a bit. "Kyungsoo? Why?"

The Master of Coins nodded. "He said so himself. He said he wants to help you."

"I see." Kai said, thinking. Baekhyun could tell the King was considering the option to make Kyungsoo the Hand. And he could not disagree more. But he decided to just smile along and keep his mouth shut.

 

Sehun couldn't sleep. Because he was scared he was going to see another Nightmare. Which is why he decided to have a stroll in the garden early in the morning. He wanted to clear his mind. And what else is better than fresh air and beautiful flowers?

"Here you are." He heard a voice behind him and turned around. It was Baekhyun. "I went to your room and you were not there. So I figured you might be here."

"Master Byun," Sehun greeted him with a smile. He was the only one Sehun liked in King's Landing beside Kai, and maybe his goofy brother whom Sehun met only once.

Baekhyun beamed at him and they started to walk together. The Master of Coins congratulated Sehun on getting released. And they talked about coronation and everything that had been happening.

"Your Highness is fond of you." Baekhyun said. "The way he looks at you, i can tell."

Sehun could feel his cheeks burning. "I am happy he is the King now. He deserves it."

"I could not agree more." Baekhyun said. He stopped walking. "Master Oh. I have a favor to ask. I need your help. The King... needs your help."

Sehun's eyes widened. "What is it?" He asked.

"The Hand of the King." Baekhyun replied. "The Kings needs to appoint the Hand. You do realize who a Hand is, right?"

Sehun nodded. "Of course I do. He is the King's first adviser, the one who assists him."

"Indeed. And I am afraid some people might take advantage of it by persuading the King. You see, humans cannot be trusted very easily. Specially when there is politics involved."

"O-Okay. And how may I help?"

Baekhyun looked Sehun directly into his eyes. "Become the Hand. And help him. You are the best fit for the position, no matter how I look at him."

Sehun looked baffled and flattered at the same time. He could not speak for a couple of seconds. "But, Master Byun, aren't you the best option for it?" He asked when he finally found his voice.

Baekhyun smiled and shook his head. "I am afraid not. King Kai needs someone who can not only just advice him, but set him in the right path as well. I have a tendency to agree with whatever his Highness says." 

"You underestimate yourself, Master Byun." Sehun said. "You are one of the wisest people I have met."

Baekhyun let out a genuine laugh. "You are too kind." He replied. "But I request you, young Master. The King needs you. He might be thinking about making Do Kyungsoo the Hand. Because he said you wanted to go home."

Sehun furrowed his eyebrows a little. Kyungsoo. Something about that man being next to Kai all the time put Sehun off. He didn't know why but he did not like the idea at all. "Ah," was all he could manage to reply.

"Master Oh. If you become the Hand, the North, Winterfell, will become an ally to the Iron Throne. And everything will become easier for you. You will get more soldiers to guard your home from beyond the Wall. Better transport system. More help from the royal treasury. Its a win-win situation. It would be the best thing you can ever do for you family." Baekhyun said.

And Sehun could not disagree. Being the Hand of the King was the biggest honor. Sehun did not want honor for himself, but for his family instead. He wanted to make his Father, his brother proud.

Also, he wanted to stay with Kai. Help him.

 

Sehun knocked on the door to the King's study. The guard next to him was standing tall and looked like he was ready to whip his sword out if anything happened. "Come in," he heard Kai's voice on the other side of the door. He pushed the door open.

Kai looked up from a thick book he seemed very engulfed in. "Sehun?" 

Sehun smiled. "I needed to see you." Sehun said, but Kai's face looked impassive. 

"Sit." Kai pointed at the chair right in front of him.

"I am sorry about what I said yesterday." sehun said as he complied and made himself comfortable on the chair. 

Kai shook his head lightly. "I was the one who went overboard." 

"Well, I can't say I disagree." Sehun shrugged jokingly. 

The King chuckled. "Wow, where did your apology go?" 

Sehun flashed a genuine smile. "I talked with master Byun." He said. 

Kai raised his eyebrows, the conversation suddenly peaking his maximum interest. "And?" He asked. 

"He told me... about the Hand. That I would be a good Fit." 

Kai chuckled. "That Byun can never keep his mouth shut," he said, rolling his eyes.

"It's because he cares about you." Sehun retaliated.

But Kai was already very aware of that. "So, what did you want to tell me?" He asked. 

Sehun looked Kai directly into his eyes. "I want to stay. I am ready to stay. If you need me." He said.

Kai's face softened a bit. "Don't want to see your beloved family?" He asked, but there was no venom in his voice like yesterday.

"I do. I do want to see them. But I realized if they know I am safe and getting proper treatment, they will feel relaxed." Sehun said. It was going to be difficult, he knew. Not being able to see them. But he was happy because he was also doing this for them. Or that is what he thought to convince himself that he was not going to just stay for selfish reasons like being with Kai.

Kai looked surprised but conflicted at the same time. "Are you sure about this?" He asked. 

Sehun nodded. "Yes. But I have two conditions. I request you to send word to Winterfell that I am no longer held captive. Luhan might... Luhan might be on his way here and. I dont want him to get involved." Sehun said.

Kai scoffed. Sehun realized he got a little annoyed everytime he mentioned Luhan. "Fine, whatever." Kai muttered. "Makes sense. I have heard your brother has a bitchy temper."

Sehun shook his head, looking offended. "No, he's just way too caring." Kai looked unimpressed. "And second is that... I know you have men looking for Zitao. Make them stop, he didn't do anything-" 

"Horseshit." Kai spat out and interrupted him. "There's no way I am letting a killer run free." 

Sehun got up from his chair and walked towards where Kai was sitting. He slightly knelt down with his hands on the armrest of the chair. "Please. Just. Listen to me this once, your Highness. I promise you I will help you catch whoever killed the queen. It isn't Zitao. Believe me." He said. Kai kept mun for a moment as they both stared at eachother.

"And you promise you will stay?" Kai asked.

Sehun nodded. "I will." He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Kai's lips. He pulled back, staring at Kai's eyes. The King grabbed sehun by his neck and pulled him back into the kiss. Their lips crashed into eachother's. The kiss was heavier and wetter than the last one as Kai sucked on Sehun's lower lip. The blonde let out a soft moan, giving Kai the opportunity to sneak his tongue inside Sehun's hot cavern.

Sehun frantically wrapped his arms around Kai's neck as the King lifted Sehun up by his waist and made him sit on his lap. Sehun deepened the kiss like he couldn't get enough of Kai. He wanted to lick every part of the inside of Kai's mouth. Kai ran one of his hands on Sehun's flat stomach under his shirt and the other gropped Sehun's ass, pulling him as close as possible. Sehun's breath was getting shorter and faster and sweet low moans would escape his lips everytime his crotch would rub against Kai's abdomen.

Kai finally pulled back and looked at the boy on his lap. Sehun looked beautiful, needy, like he never wanted Kai to stop. The king trailed kisses down Sehun's jawline and then down his neck to his collarbone, biting and sucking on the soft pale skin. He wanted to mark him. Sehun let out a little yelp as he tightened his arms around Kai's neck. "Kai," he almost moaned his name. Sehun could feel Kai getting hard. He wanted to touch it, lick it. Make kai feel good. The thought turned on sehun more, if that was even possible. 

There was a knock on the door and Sehun almost fell from Kai's lap as he tried to get off and stand straight. Kai cleared his throat, looking like he was ready to kill the person who had disturbed him.

It was Shon, the former Hand of the King. He burst inside the room, panting. "Your Grace. Prince Chanyeol. The Prince... He has been attacked. He isn't... He isn't getting up."

 

Chanyeol ran a hand through his hair as he walked in the Veranda and let out a soft sigh. Kai had finally become the King. And he could not be happier for his brother. But he kept wondering what he was doing with his life. Chanyeol had never achieved anything. He was not very good at sword-fighting. Or strategies. Neither was he wise or manipulative. Baekhyun always told him to go to the Royal Library and read some books, but the idea bored Chanyeol to death.

At least he was good with the ladies.

After a little words of self-encouragement like "its okay, you are doing fine," and "not everyone is meant to be something big," he felt satisfied and decided to go back to his room. But stopped halfway when he felt something pierce through his abdomen. Someone had stabbed him from behind and Chanyeol couldn't breathe or register the pain as he let out a string of grunts.

The attacked took the dagger out. The same expensive looking dagger that had been used to stab the former Queen. "Blood before everything," they whispered in Chanyeol's ear before they stabbed him again and pushed him to the ground, running back into hiding.

Everything faded to black as Chanyeol collapsed on the floor, blood gushing out of his abdomen and his mouth.


End file.
